Centre for Reproductive Health

CRH researchers facilitate outreach activity at Preston Lodge High School

A half day of scientific workshops and Q&A sessions at Preston Lodge High School ran on 06.03.24

Students and researches engaged with classroom activity

Ginnie Clark (Public Engagement and Communications Manager), Rocio Martinez-Aguilar (Maybin lab), Frankie Hearn-Yeates (Horne / EXPPECT lab), Grace Forsyth (Mitchell lab) and Marlene Magalhaes Pinto (Gentek lab) offered two groups of senior Biology students the chance to take part in our reproductive health themed scientific workshop, followed by Q&A’s with the researchers.

The enthusiastic young scientists (age 16-18) learned about the challenges of creating a new life from the successful fertilisation of an egg to the growth and development of an embryo and what is required to ensure the creation of a healthy human.

Students engaged in a classroom activity

The students participated in microscope activity to discover how cells grow and change and what happens when cell growth goes wrong. They played ‘jigsaw cell match’ to reveal the role of different cells and organs within the body, experimented with fluorescence, studied the difference between healthy and diseased tissue, learned about the reproductive system of different animals by taking part in an interactive quiz, and worked out the different stages of embryo foetal development by examining mouse embryos.

Each workshop concluded with a Q&A and the students were invited to ask questions about different areas of reproductive health research and future career options.

The youngsters were extremely engaged and keen to ask our researchers about study tips for future exams, the ethics of testing on animals, what kind of research they do in the CRH labs, and summaries of their career trajectories. Many were considering future careers in STEM.

We received plenty of positive anecdotal feedback, following our visit including:

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit from the researchers and it was very informative and interesting. It was encouraging to be able to speak to current and past STEM students as they spoke about reproductive biology and the other sciences are really like at university and the workplace. The hands-on experience of science was really interested.

Amy Davanna

It was interesting to hear about reproductive health research. I hadn’t realised it was such a broad topic that included cancer and research into animals as well. It was particularly cool to see the different stages of the mouse embryo because it made the changes very visual and easier to understand. It was really surprising to learn how quickly mice develop in the womb - their gestation period is only 3 weeks. It was also good to learn more about careers in health that aren’t in medicine and hear about the different pathways that are available.

Kyle Forrest
Students using a microscope

Mrs Susan Malamos, science teacher at Preston Lodge High School, added: “The students were very engaged in these workshops and the opportunity to partake in a reproductive health Q&A. It supported what we teach the students in Higher and Advanced Higher Biology, and offered valuable hands-on samples of lab activity and explored various new topics, which fascinated our young scientists. On the week of International Women’s Day (8th March), it was really empowering to see the all-female scientists!”

We were delighted to visit Preston Lodge High School to encourage an interest in science and research and to teach the students more about reproductive health. The Head of Biology expressed an interest in future engagement activity and has asked that we keep in touch..