Shakespeare Infant School (SIS) in Eastleigh is the closest primary school to Alpha Laboratories. Over the years Alpha Labs has been working closely with SIS to provide support on a range of projects.

To improve children’s connection to the outdoors and engage them in a variety of science led activities, Alpha has helped fund projects such as the development of a sensory garden in 2021, the re-surfacing of the outdoor area, refurbishment of a new practical room and kitchen and the installation of a classroom fence.

The garden is designed to improve the wellbeing of students and staff, giving them the chance to experience and enjoy the outdoor space. It includes an outdoor shelter, a sensory footpath, a raised herb bed, a willow arch entrance, mirrors and a bug hotel. There is also a pond which has a pump powered using solar panels and a wind turbine.

The classroom fence is designed to facilitate the fluidity of indoor and outdoor learning, giving teachers the opportunity to engage more children in a range of different learning activities. Learning outside of the classroom provides an environment and activities that foster positive relationships, which are central to a young person’s health and well-being. Participation in outdoor activities can also help improve their happiness.

The new practical room and kitchen are designed to engage both the children and parents in nutritional health and to make food an exciting activity to learn about. Cooking is an excellent opportunity to show science in day-to-day activities, encouraging an air of curiosity and interest.

Alpha staff regularly get involved in mini working parties to help support the school, tasks such as garden maintenance, resetting forest school area, and resetting practical room for the new school year. Alpha uses these opportunities to show staff the communities that are positively impacted by our work, these opportunities also encourage team building and communication internally, boosting a positive work environment.

(Photographic credit to Harvey Mills)

In November 2023, members of the Marketing department visited Test Valley School in Stockbridge in our eVan, to deliver some much need supplies and equipment to their Science department.

This donation included textbooks, microscopes, and an incubator, as well as an autoclave which will allow the students to carry out required practical experiments for GCSE for the first time, something they'd only been able to watch on video before.

All the students were thrilled with the new equipment, and couldn't wait to get started on new experiments.

Alpha has previously partnered with one of our local Sixth Form Colleges to support their return to learning from the disruption caused during the Covid Pandemic. This began with a focus on initiatives to help students catch up on any missed curriculum.  

A £60,000 grant will provide the College and its students with new, state-of-the-art equipment for its Science Centre, classroom resources and materials, plus extra tuition for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Barton Peveril’s Director of Science, Nathan Cheung, has also had the opportunity to create a bank of employability resources for the College’s students as part of the donation called The Employability Talking Heads Programme. Nathan Cheung interviewed professionals from across Alpha Laboratories, giving students an insight into the broad range of career possibilities available once they complete their studies at Barton Peveril.

Alongside this, the Alpha Aspire programme was established to promote science and develop understanding and insight into the commercial application and employability of science degrees. The programme offered a range of experiences to benefit students' future planning and career awareness, enabling them to visit Alpha Laboratories and attend a series of presentations and workshops from professionals in the scientific field. Due to our engagement success over the last several years with this work, we have decided to expand this programme.

Please see our Alpha Outreach page for more information on the previous work with the Aspire programme and to stay updated on future projects.

STEM Ambassadors are volunteers from a wide range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related jobs across the UK who volunteer their time, enthusiasm and experiences to encourage and inspire young people to progress further in STEM subjects.

Previously we have worked with Hayley Pincott, an Associate Practitioner in Oral Pathology and Microbiology at the University Dental Hospital in Cardiff. She is an enthusiastic STEM Ambassador and co-founder of @ShowMeTheSci.

Very active in her role, Hayley regularly visits schools to promote science and pathology. This often involves setting up fun practical sessions for the students to engage them and reinforce their learning.

Alpha looks to continue to support STEM outreach programmes through stock donations of laboratory consumables where possible. Please contact sustainability@alphalabs.co.uk if you would like to discuss this possibility further.