DPAG once again hosted a successful Teacher Residential in collaboration with Jesus College and Trinity College, Oxford in June 2025.
Secondary school teachers visited Oxford for a week and were accommodated by Jesus and Trinity colleges.
For their research projects teachers were hosted by groups at the CNCB, Sherrington Building and IDRM, with the key aims of better understanding how research is conducted at a tertiary research institution; experiencing science research at Oxford first hand; and gaining confidence and enthusiasm to encourage students to apply to study science subjects at university level. In the final day the teachers presented and discussed their results and a session on ‘Applying to Oxford’ was held to help support their students.
The teachers were impressed by the professionalism, skills and high standards of the researchers they worked with, and fully engaged with the tools and techniques they were shown. They found useful connections with the school syllabus which will help them to support their students’ learning and development in future. They found the experience incredibly helpful; not only in trying new scientific techniques and broadening their understanding of the variety of scientific careers, but also in their experience of Oxford which they had previously “put on a pedestal”. They agreed that sharing their experience within the classroom will inspire their students to consider scientific careers, and to consider Oxford.
The participating scientists equally enjoyed the experience and found the time they spent with the teachers particularly motivating and fulfilling; from sharing their research and scientific techniques, to learning more about the challenges faced by those working in secondary education.
The teachers also really valued the opportunity to meet colleagues from other schools and have agreed to stay in touch to share resources and ideas now that they have returned to the classroom. Ali and Albane, participating teachers from Wales said, ‘How can we begin to thank you for the hard work, attention to detail and cooperation of staff you managed to pull of this week?! We have been treated to a spoil of riches as we have spent time with your friends and colleagues. We have been blown away by all the things we have seen and experienced and the level of trust you have placed in us. Personally, we won't forget what we have seen and learned this week and will take so much of it into our teaching and support of our students. We could not be more grateful for the care and interest shown to us by you and your magnificent team!’
Valeria Silva Moeller, a postdoctoral research scientist in the Waddell Group said, ‘It was a real pleasure hosting the teachers Agnieszka and Will at the High School Teacher Week-Residential alongside Dr. Anna Cook and Dr. Ashwin Mirilaya. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing our research with the teachers and inspiring them with the science we’re passionate about. It was a valuable opportunity to connect our work with the broader community and to build meaningful bridges between the university, scientists, teachers, and ultimately the students in their classrooms. We also learned a great deal from the teachers—their energy, dedication, and skill in communicating complex concepts in accessible ways was truly inspiring. It reminded us that science communication is both a challenge and an art.’
The residential was organised by Rui Ponte Costa with help from Tomoko Watanabe, Vicky Ball, Louise Cotterell, Shankar Srinivas and Becky Carlyle.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, materials, and resources including to ensuring the success of this initiative, including:
From the Waddell Group: Teachers Agnieszka Munns (Norfolk) and Will Kendall (Thame) were supervised by Anna Cook, Ashwin Mirilaya and Valeria Silva Moeller
From the Sparrow Group: Kara Mullis (Milton Keynes) was supervised by Laura Bell
From the De Wet Group: Rob Prior (Essex) was supervised by Charlotte Meller
From the IDRM (which hosted Welsh teachers Albane Montgomery and Ali Robert):
Luke Evans (IDRM)
Ian McCracken (McCracken Group)
Christophe Ravaud (Riley Group)
Liliana Som (Smart Group)
Andy Darly (IDRM)
Susanna Cooper (Riley Group)
Shifaan Thowfeequ (Srinivas Group)
Jacinta Kalisch-Smith (Kalisch-Smith Group)
Konstantinos Miti (Srinivas Group)
Jonathan Godwin (Srinivas Group)
Dhanu Gupta (Wood Group/Paediatrics)
Christina Yan (Wood Group/Paediatrics)
Mell Nixon (IDRM)