Life, environmental and sport science subject sessions
Students can analyse fossils to understand past ecosystems, investigate microplastics using water fleas, explore how forests store carbon, or examine how scientists track changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
Led by our academics and researchers, these interactive sessions help students see how scientific research is used to understand and tackle real-world environmental challenges.
Subject sessions in Geography and Environmental Science
Global carbon accounts and climate change mitigation
Global carbon accounts and climate change mitigation
Discover how scientists track global carbon emissions and assess progress towards net‑zero targets in this study session. Students learn how carbon accounting works and how researchers analyse emissions data from countries, cities and industries using environmental datasets.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Professor Yuli Shan
The urban regeneration challenge
The urban regeneration challenge
Cities constantly evolve as planners and governments respond to economic and social challenges. This session explores how regeneration projects revitalise neighbourhoods and improve infrastructure while considering sustainability and social impacts.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Assistant Professor Adam Sheppard
From fossils to future: Paleontological insights for biodiversity conservation
From fossils to future: Paleontological insights for biodiversity conservation
Explore how fossil evidence reveals past ecosystems and biodiversity change over millions of years, in this session on paleontological insights. The session highlights how palaeontology helps scientists understand extinction events and informs modern conservation research.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Shan Huang
The geography of video games
The geography of video games
Students will learn and explore how how geographical ideas such as place, landscape and spatial representation appear in video games. Discover how how digital environments reflect real‑world geography and cultural narratives.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Professor Phil Jones
Earth's wandering magnetic field
Earth's wandering magnetic field
This session introduces the science of geomagnetism and how scientists study changes in Earth’s magnetic field using rocks and geological records.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Marco Maffione
Forever chemicals: A threat to environmental health
Forever chemicals: A threat to environmental health
In this session, students will explore the environmental and health impacts of persistent chemicals known as PFAS. Students will learn how scientists detect these pollutants and investigate their effects on ecosystems and human health.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Daniel Drage
Crete: Building a Palaeoclimatic framework for Europe’s oldest civilisations
Crete: Building a Palaeoclimatic framework for Europe’s oldest civilisations
Discover how scientists reconstruct past climates using geological and environmental evidence and how climate influenced early Mediterranean civilisations.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr James Bendle
Subject sessions in Biology and Biosciences
Sport Science: Performance, physiology and human movement
Sport Science: Performance, physiology and human movement
An engaging taster session introducing students to the science behind sport, exercise and human performance. Students explore how physiology, biomechanics and psychology are used to understand athletic performance and human health. Real examples from elite sport and rehabilitation research demonstrate how scientists measure performance, analyse movement and design training programmes.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: On campus
Duration: 5.5 hours
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Katie Hesketh
Biosciences AQA required practical sessions (AS & A-level Biology)
Biosciences AQA required practical sessions (AS & A-level Biology)
This on-campus laboratory experience introduces students to practical techniques used in university bioscience research while supporting key components of the AQA AS and A-level Biology curriculum. Students take part in practical activities linked to required practicals including microscopy, microbiology and biochemical analysis.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: On campus
Duration: 5.5 hours
Session type: Practical laboratory workshop
Academic lead: Dr Eugenio Sanchez-Moran
From fossils to future: Paleontological insights for biodiversity conservation
From fossils to future: Paleontological insights for biodiversity conservation
In this general taster session, students will explore how fossil evidence reveals past ecosystems and biodiversity change over millions of years. The session highlights how palaeontology helps scientists understand extinction events and informs modern conservation research.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Shan Huang
Daphnia Detectives: Using water fleas to monitor microplastic and chemical pollution
Daphnia Detectives: Using water fleas to monitor microplastic and chemical pollution
In this session, students will investigate how organisms such as Daphnia can be used as bioindicators to detect pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: General subject taster
Academic lead: Dr Katie Reilly
Building BIFoR FACE: Engineering a climate experiment
Building BIFoR FACE: Engineering a climate experiment
Students are introduced to the BIFoR FACE experiment and how scientists design large‑scale environmental experiments. Through a STEM challenge students build a model research tower to explore how carbon dioxide is monitored in forest ecosystems.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Interactive workshop
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Can trees time travel? Exploring climate change in forest ecosystems
Can trees time travel? Exploring climate change in forest ecosystems
Students explore the BIFoR woodland experiment through an immersive virtual activity examining how forests respond to climate change.
Year group: Year 10-13
Delivery format: In school, on campus, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Interactive workshop
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
BIFoR in a Box: Citizen science tree growth investigation
BIFoR in a Box: Citizen science tree growth investigation
Students in this session will participate in a citizen science activity, measuring tree growth using dendrometers and learn how environmental monitoring contributes to research.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, or on campus
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Practical workshop
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Estimating biomass and carbon storage in forests
Estimating biomass and carbon storage in forests
In this session, students will explore how scientists estimate forest biomass and calculate carbon storage to understand the role of forests in climate change mitigation.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Interactive lecture
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Snow Patch quadrat investigation: Virtual ecology fieldwork
Snow Patch quadrat investigation: Virtual ecology fieldwork
This subject session will give students an insight into ecological fieldwork techniques through a virtual investigation of plant communities in a snow patch ecosystem.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Interactive workshop
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Future forests: Designing climate solutions
Future forests: Designing climate solutions
Students can learn how forests contribute to climate mitigation and biodiversity protection in this subject session.They will also consider strategies for sustainable forest management.
Year group: Years 10-13
Delivery format: In school, or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Interactive lecture
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Student‑led climate action plans
Student‑led climate action plans
This workshop supports students in developing climate action plans for their school and exploring sustainability solutions.
Year group: Year 10-13
Delivery format: In school or online
Duration: 1 hour
Session type: Workshop
Academic lead: Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Request a subject taster session
If you would like to book a subject taster session, you can submit a request and a member of our team will be in touch to confirm details and availability.
Contact the team at studentrecruitment@contacts.bham.ac.uk