PUPILS LEARN THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE

West Briton

Students from Helston Community College visited the Tremough Campus, Penryn, to learn about careers in the life sciences.

It was clearly a worthwhile trip. The Helston party came away with two major prizes in following a University Challenge-type competition involving the ten participating local schools.The event was organised by Wainui SW Limited, the University of Exeter and Education Business Partnership.

BioScience! Is it For Me? introduced year 10 pupils to a range of bioscience career opportunities.

David Ortiz, business development director of Wainui SW Limited, said: " BioScience in Cornwall is a burgeoning market but the county's school children, with a real interest in science, aren't aware of the fantastic employment opportunities open to them.

"The sad truth is that in the past this has led to an unnecessary brain-drain on the county.

"With our event being recognised by both industry and education, not to mention the work by the Learning Skills Council, EBP and Bio Approaches, the future in Cornwall is bright.

"I got the feeling I was watching the next generation of Cornish BioScientists."

The day included a series of interactive workshops and demonstrations.

Representatives from Wainui SW Limited, South West Water, Agrifood Innovation Centre (Duchy College), Key Organics and TRAC Services were on hand to demonstrate and talk about the range of careers offered.

Throughout the day, pupils met employers, academics and University of Exeter student ambassadors.

The event culminated in the quiz where teams did battle to answer questions on what they had learned throughout the day.

The winning team was Helston Community College, who also won the Wainui SW Limited Bioscience Online challenge.

To find out more please visit: www.careersinaction.net/bioscience ( Using the following Password: Guest Username: Guest )