Once again the pupils at Bedford Free School (BFS) are winning awards. Pupils from the Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Club at BFS recently entered “Aspire to Engineer: The Genetic Engineering Challenge”, a UK wide school challenge, and were awarded Second Prize. The competition invited pupils to submit an original presentation addressing questions such as ‘How can genetic engineering change the world in the future?’ On announcing the winners, the judges said “Bedford Free School’s courtroom drama video was an innovative and inspired approach to the competition. The team captured the judges’ attention by highlighting the ethical implications around genetic engineering by using role-play to act out real life case studies.” The prize is a video call with Kathy Niakan who was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in April 2016. She was also the first scientist in the world to gain regulatory approval to edit the genomes of human embryos for research using CRISPR gene editing technology.
Chanel McPherson-George, Head of Science at BFS said “It’s been great to see such an inspirational group of young girls working so hard to promote STEM at BFS and in the community. Their enthusiasm has led to a genuine interest and confidence boost to pupils right across the school and further afield; what’s more, they are delving into current research within the disciplines of technology and genetic engineering developing a deeper understanding for its real world application.”
One of the pupils who took part, Maddie Felts-King added “We loved the experience as we were able to explore new areas of science. It’s made us more interested in discovering different STEM careers too, especially within genetic engineering.”
Stuart Lock, Executive Principal, was over the moon but said that it comes as no surprise. “The pupils and staff have worked so hard and we ensure our knowledge-based curriculum is learnt so well that it prepares the pupils to apply this in real-world problems and issues. We could not be prouder.”
