Matthew Drew, 14, from St Ives and Mark Norris, Education Manager from Newquay Zoo, inspect a penguin egg.

Cornish schools inspired by science careers event

Children from eight Cornish schools, from Callington to St Ives, visited the Cornwall Campus, known locally as Tremough, in Penryn, on Wednesday 25 March to learn about careers in the life sciences.

Organised by the University of Exeter and Cornwall Education Business Partnership, BioScience! Is it for me? introduced year-ten pupils to a range of biosciences career opportunities.

Groups from the following schools took part: Bodmin College, Callington Community College, Camborne Science and Community College, Helston Community College, The Roseland Community College, Redruth School, St Ives School and Treviglas Community College, Newquay.

Representatives from the University of Exeter, Eden Project, Newquay Zoo, Key Organics and Duchy College ran interactive sessions, highlighting the range of careers they offer. Staff and students from the University of Exeter’s Tremough Campus were on-hand to talk to pupils about studying biosciences at university.

Professor Matthew Evans, Provost of the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus said: “We hope this event inspired the students by opening their eyes to the amazing career and education opportunities in biosciences in their home county. The University of Exeter offers a range of biosciences courses on the Tremough Campus and we are keen to encourage the brightest young people to consider studying with us.”

Susan Care of Cornwall Education Business Partnership added: “It is really important that young people in Cornwall are aware of the exciting and innovative work being done in the life sciences, and the opportunities that this offers. This event was about raising aspirations by showing students what the county has to offer in terms of both higher education and employment. It was great to have such a range of influential organisations to inspire young people with the amazing options here in Cornwall.”

The day included a series of interactive workshops and demonstrations and a tour of the Tremough Campus. The event culminated in a lively University Challenge style quiz in which schools battled it out to answer questions on what they have learned throughout the day. The winning team from St Ives School received the shield, which last year went to Helston Community College.

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “Science is a key part of business innovation which in turn offers opportunities for new and higher paid jobs here in Cornwall. I welcome this initiative in introducing our children to the wonders of science and showing that it’s ‘cool’ to aspire to these careers."

Neal Williams, science teacher at Helston School said: “It’s been a good opportunity for our students to look at all the career avenues available in the sciences. I think today has been a really good chance to focus on careers.”

Richard Clark, science teacher of Roseland School added: “It was good to give students an opportunity to see how the science they learn in the classroom is applied in the real world. They’ve had a great day and should go back more engaged. We hope to bring more students next year.”

Date: 30 March 2009

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