Taking inspiration from Professor Brian Cox, who has recently declared it to be “the age of the geek!” our recently formed Science Team adopted the title BFG, which stands for “The Big Friendly Geeks”. The team comprises 13 students from years 8 to 10. They have been meeting after school each Wednesday to carry out a range of exciting practical activities under the guidance of research biologist Sarah Keenan from York University. The pupils have carried out investigations that would not have been possible without the support of the university. An example of this has been identifying bacterial contamination in foods and tagging and extracting DNA from microbes. The students spent an entire day carrying out practical work in the biology labs at the university. During the visit the students carried out a CSI-style DNA fingerprinting experiment. They were given DNA samples from a crime scene and by the end of the session were able to identify which of the five suspects was linked to the crime. By being part of the club students have seen some of the ways that Science affects people’s lives and can recognise the exciting career opportunities that open up for those who study Science after leaving school. New Science clubs will be started during the summer term to give all of our students the chance to get involved