Novel Research
As part of our drive to foster independent research skills and encourage inter-disciplinary learning and innovation at Wimbledon High School, our sixth formers can embark on novel research with academics and data scientists across the world.
Authentic research is something often associated with postgraduate studies – work that is contributing towards a DPhil, perhaps. With the endless volume of big data that is part of the modern world, students at Wimbledon High School have opportunities to delve deep into a dataset with the support from ‘real life’ scientists. This has enabled them to make valuable contributions to the research community and eventually publish their research.
Under the expert guidance of Dr Clare Roper, students may opt to crunch and analyse data sets on a topic of their choosing. Deciphering trends, developing a narrative to explain their results and presenting them in a professional academic format, the students learn invaluable skills. Currently we have exciting projects underway ranging from using a machine learning protein folding algorithm, to analysing the effect of political ideologies on Supreme Court cases.
A selection of completed projects:
Effect of serve speed on winning in tennis
The confounding effects of serve speed and ball placement on success of male and female tennis players at The Championships, Wimbledon
Rosabel and Homare published their research in July 2024 in the International Journal of Racket Sports Science.
Abstract:
The direction and speed of the serve are two crucial factors when determining the outcome of a serve and subsequently the point. Gaining maximum advantage from the serve is a priority for tennis players, particularly when competing at The Championships, Wimbledon due to the nature of the grass court surface. Analysis of data from 2004 to 2019 was used to investigate the combined effect of serve speed and direction because these factors are beneficial for players and their teams.
The server in male singles will more likely win the point regardless of other serve characteristics but serve placement into the centre and wide areas increase the probability of winning the point. In female singles, the likelihood of the server winning the point was lower for some serve combinations, largely due to serve placement and service number. The relationship between serve placement and serve speed suggested that certain speeds were favoured for both male and female matches for all directions of the serve, with two distinct peaks and serves around 190 km.h^-1 being disfavoured. No significant relationships between factors such as court side, sex, handedness of the server and receiver and serve speed could be found.
You can read the full article here.
Trends in Caesarean sections in England
Trends in Caesarean sections in England
Antonia investigated caesarean sections trends in the National Health Service (NHS). She worked with NHS data and sought advice from scientists at the NHS and the Department of Economics for her project.
Watch Antonia discuss her research in this short video.
ULEZ effect on air pollution in London
ULEZ effect on air pollution in London
Grace and Phoebe worked with scientists from the School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, to research the effect of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) on NOx concentrations in Central London. They worked with data from Air Quality Archive for their project.
Watch Grace and Phoebe discuss how they conducted their research.
Binding variability of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in different organisms
Binding variability of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in different organisms
Rhea published her research in September 2021 in the Young Scientists Journal.
Abstract:
The 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a major pandemic affecting millions of people. The virus is a beta coronavirus and is closely related to the MERS and other SARS viruses. Replicase Polyprotein 1ab is the key polyprotein which is vital for virus replication as it contains the key proteinases that are responsible for the cleavages of the polyprotein. Once the polyprotein is cleaved into the smaller proteins, the individual proteins are important in the transcription process of the RNA in the virus. The SARS-CoV-2 genome was retrieved and then BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool which is a programme used to compare and contrast the sequence of an organism, and it’s contents, with other species that may contain similar parts of the sequence. The sequence may be the amino acid or nucleotide sequence.) was used to understand the components of the virus, the similarities between SARS-CoV-2, and other known viruses. The cleavage sites and processes have been identified which led to the conclusion that the two proteinases (3c-like proteinase and the papain-like proteinase) are responsible for the cleavage of the polyprotein. We also elucidated on the specific role of each of the smaller proteins within the polyprotein and their importance in viral replication.
You can read the full article here.
Serve speed and ball placement in tennis
Serve speed and ball placement in tennis
Athena investigated the impact of converting break points on match success in elite female tennis players. She worked with sports scientists linked with the Wimbledon Championships to write her research paper and used data from All England Lawn Tennis Club.
You can listen to Athena discuss her research in the video below.
Impact of converting break points in tennis
Impact of converting break points in tennis
Lizzie published a research article in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, investigating the relationship between serve speed and winning points using data from the Wimbledon Championships.
Modelling nylon digesting enzymes
Proteins – investigating enzymes that digest nylon, which could have a positive impact on sustainability
Using AlphaFold to explore the HOP1 protein in non-model organisms
Using AlphaFold to explore the HOP1 protein in non-model organisms
“In spring/summer of 2020, EMBL, together with Dr. Clare Roper, the Director of Science, Technology and Engineering at Wimbledon High School (WHS) in London, organized a pilot bioinformatics course for secondary school students-Life in Numbers (LiNes).
Seven students from grade 11 of WHS, guided by EMBL scientists, bioinformaticians and their teacher Dr. Clare Roper got an in depth look into the field of bioinformatics, the data available and the various tools use to study and interpret biological data. The students, with the help of EMBL scientists also formulated authentic research questions and undertook real research projects.”
Please read the full article here.