Exciting science for students

Students at Chester Zoo

Science students at Rochdale Sixth Form College recently had the chance to bring their AS and A Level studies to life through two exciting field trips.

Sea hares, urchins and sea horses were just some of the specimens found by Year 13 Biology students, who visited Black Rocks, south of Scarborough’s main tourist beach, and Brompton stream, on the North Yorkshire coast, to practise their biological sampling skills and analyse water quality using indicator species to determine cleanliness.

Meanwhile, Year 12 students studying Applied Science visited Chester Zoo as part of their investigations into how science is used in an organisation.

The day allowed the group to see first-hand how conservation techniques and environmental enrichment are being used to protect various endangered species such as Jaguars, the Bornean Orangutan and the British Sand Lizard. The students were also able to visit the new baby cheetahs, born as part of the Zoo’s endangered breeding programme.

Sara Petts, Subject Leader for Biology, who coordinated the visits, said: “Field trips are a great way of further building upon what we’ve learnt in the lab, and the visits to both Chester Zoo and Scarborough really captured the students’ imaginations, while giving them the chance to put their skills into practice.”