Getting cheeky for Science Week

On Wednesday 14th March, Science Outreach at Oxford High School marked Science Week with a brilliant team of sixth form STEM mentors working with five pupils from St Nicholas’ Primary School in a lab activity preparing and observing their own cheek cells.

Whether using swabs or saline, everyone was incredibly busy using centrifuges and staining up their preparations with methylene blue.

Some terrific microscopy was observed; well done to the STEM mentors who simultaneously guided and trained the children to such a high level of expertise in one and a half hours.

Outreach is a key part of the working week at Oxford High, and marks the sixth year of the initiative for sixth form STEM mentors.

Many of the STEM mentors go on to study Medicine and related disciplines at university. Science Outreach offers them the rewarding and valuable opportunity for sustained periods of relevant experience in school.

Thanks to the Oxford High mentors, scores of primary school children in the local community have benefited from first-class STEM learning and engagement- in the cunning disguise of everyone having great fun!