Teacher-Scientist Partnerships

Foundations of Bristol Teacher-Scientist Partnership Network

Our vision builds on the real life experience the Trust has developed in close relationships with schools over recent years. A number of these are included in the Trust's publication Scientific Research in Schools: A Compendium of Practical Experience.

Examples include:

  • The first Scientist in Residence Programme in any school, which the Trust Director brought to Clifton College, Bristol in 1988-1993. This generated pupil projects in such areas as the use of robotics in surgery, attitudes to genetic screening, menstrual synchrony, the ecology of the black rat on the cliffs of Lundy island, and others.

  • This in turn built on the very successful Clifton College student project on chemical communication in mammals, which was exhibited at the Royal Society Soiree in London in 1986. This focussed on the catnip response in cats, and involved chemical and biological studies on the natural substances present in the catmint plant. It relates directly to Dr Albone's own research interests (see Eric Albone, Mammalian Semiochemistry; the Investigation of Chemical Signals between Mammals, Wiley Interscience, 1984; ISBN 0 471 10253 9)

  • The Bristol Student Radio-Astronomers Group based at Cotham Grammar School, Bristol and facilitated by the donation of computer equipment through the Trust from Hewlett Packard Laboratories.

  • The Florence Brown School Strength of Concrete Project. The Trust has advised and supported this long-term project in this Bristol special school for pupils with learning difficulties over many years. Such is its success that work from the project was exhibited by pupils at the Royal Society New Frontiers of Science Exhibition in London in 1995.

Photograph: See caption

Six proud Florence Brown School Year 10 students exhibiting their research work on concrete at the Royal Society New Frontiers in Science Exhibition, London, Summer 1995. At the right are teachers Dick Berry and Fiona Carle and behind is Bristol University Civil Engineer Rowland Morgan.

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© Clifton Scientific Trust, 2000