A Science Summer well spent!

A group of young refugees, migrants and asylum seekers attended a summer school organised by PhD students and UCL staff, experiencing the joy of scientific discovery and expanding their English. PhD students and postdocs from the London Centre of Nanotechnology (LCN) and teachers from the Institute of Education (IoE) ran a two week summer school at UCL. The course, now in its second year, aimed to help the students to improve their science, computing and English language knowledge, helping them build vital skills and inspiring them for the future. The team led by Safe Khan, Maeve McLaughlin, Jonathan Fouchard, Ana Lisica, Massimiliano Ramsay and Alex Pakpour-Tabrizi built on the success of the pilot event in 2018, made possible thanks to essential funding from The Ogden Trust and UCL Widening Participation. The programme was expanded to a two week course (teaching 10am-4pm) for 40 students. The English team, led by Michael Beaney and Jumana Al-Waeli (IoE) with support from professional teacher volunteers held classes each morning. Students were introduced to the science and IT language of the specific topics, providing them with the tools and helping them prepare for the afternoon activities whilst practicing more general English skills.