We are involved in UK project to sequence all higher organisms across the UK with our new PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) machine. Once it is further developed, we will be involving partner schools next academic year.

Bringing together the disciplines of Computer Science, Design Technology and Geography, this project is tied to Energy Sparks, a national initiative that models energy usage across schools. Our students are using the data to forecast the impact of future changes in energy use.

These are Computer Science research projects being undertaken in conjunction with the University of Birmingham and students from our local partner school Ricards Lodge. We have five projects on the go – students presented the work at a conference in Birmingham in June 2022.

Two groups of Year 12 students are involved in this initiative. One group is working with Aix-Marseille University on the Virtual Brain Project. The second group is working with an Economic Scientist at an Italian university, looking at the prescribing profiles of doctors for opioids.

Year 11 – 13 have been working on these projects:

An investigation into the viral DNA in sewage water to model how we can predict pandemics  - a very timely and exciting collaboration with the University of Birmingham and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Proteins - investigating enzymes that digest nylon, which could of course have a positive impact on sustainability.

Students in Year 11 and sixth form are working cross-curricular (Maths, Computer science, PE) to build on the research that Lizzie published, which was presented to the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Physics students in Year 10 and Year 12 are working with students from our partner school Ricards Lodge on this University College London project looking at exoplanets. Watch this space…