Pupils head back to college classroom

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) was to the fore as the group of had fun and were inspired by FVC lecturers and Ineos mentors.

They spent part of their holidays learning but improving their career prospects at the same time.

Aimed at pupils in the Forth Valley area aged between 11-14, the school opened up a whole new world to young people who already know the path they want to take when they leave school, and also to those who are looking to turn that spark of interest in a subject into a full blown career.

Curiosity was the key for the young people as they discovered what’s in Irn Bru (liquid chromatography), and found out more about instrumental techniques, atomic absorption, blood sampling and augmented reality through a fantastic mix of hands on practical workshops and project work.

Fiona Jackson, FVC curriculum manager in the department of applied science, maths and mechanical engineering, said: “It has been a great week for the young people who were here to find out more about STEM subjects. They had a lot of great topics and experiments to explore and from the feedback we have had they all seemed to enjoy themselves.”

Ineos staff taking part were Craig Kat, Bradley Gardner, Jennifer Yeardly, Neil Davidson, Rena Kotzaoglan and Ruaridh MacDonald.

Further information at www.forthvalley.ac.uk/ways-tostudy/summer-schools.