About Education at Life

Thank you for your interest in Life’s schools programme. Unfortunately we are unable to welcome back school groups until further notice.

We’re following Government guidance and working with teachers to inform our offer and when we can reopen. We look forward to welcoming you and your students back as soon as we can. In the meantime, look out for online activities and events we'll be involved in!

Please sign up to our education e-news to be the first to hear when school bookings reopen: life.org.uk/subscribe

Education

Life's schools' programme aims to provide hands-on, minds-on, hearts-on science education that cannot be replicated in the classroom.

Why bring your school group to Life?

Life Science Centre, part of the International Centre for Life, is a unique educational resource based in Newcastle upon Tyne. We offer curriculum enrichment and enhancement through workshops, activities, equipment and expertise that complement what’s done in schools. We cater for all ages from Early Years to GCSE and provide specialist support for many topics at A-level and beyond.

Make a day of it

You can easily spend a full day here or you may prefer just a half-day visit – the choice is yours. A typical school visit includes time in the science centre plus a workshop of your choice in our education labs – or you can opt for a workshop or a science centre visit only.

Workshops

Life offers over 100 curriculum-linked STEM workshops for Early Years through to adult learners, delivered in teaching laboratories and a state-of-the-art planetarium. All workshops are available on demand and are designed so that both the content and style are matched to the target age group and national curriculum where appropriate.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Bespoke workshops can be created in order to explore a specific topic - contact us on (0191) 243 8223 or email: education@life.org.uk

Science Centre

Life Science Centre is a rich educational resource in itself. Its exhibitions add an extra dimension to school visits. In Space Zone, for instance, students can learn about the wide variety of careers in the North East's space industry that they could pursue.

Can't get to us? We'll come to you! Find out more about our Outreach Workshops.

How we work with secondary schools

For secondary schools, we focus on providing specific expertise and equipment required to facilitate deep learning in areas teachers find most difficult to deliver. We work with university academics to ensure that the scientific grounding is at the cutting edge, providing valuable learning experiences for teachers and students from KS3 through to AS and A2-level. Our approach to mathematics is equally in-depth. Learner Levels

How we work with primary schools

For primaries, we offer workshops to cover all parts of the science curriculum at every stage from Reception to the top of KS2. We support our workshops with equipment and resources which are unavailable in most primary schools. Our approach is broad and we set our workshops in context by making links to other areas of the primary curriculum. The workshops are designed to develop creativity in the students, cover all the science essentials – and be fun! Learner Levels

Maths support

At Life, we explore the creative side of maths from KS2 upwards, encouraging students to consider mathematical ways of thinking. This can be particularly useful in helping students transition from KS2 to KS3 and motivating students to take the leap from studying maths at GCSE to AS-level, or from AS to A2-level.

Offer includes:

Gifted and Talented Days for students at KS2 and KS3.
Mathsplosion to help KS4 students achieve the highest grades.
Maths Stimulus Days for sixth form.
Mathstastic for all LKS2, UKS2 and KS3 classes.
Festival of Maths for secondary school groups and family visitors
Bespoke Maths Extension Days – available on demand for all ages.

Dialogue and discussion

As well as practical and theoretical science, Life specialises in facilitating dialogue and discussion, encouraging young people to reach their own conclusions about scientific issues in a structured and guided fashion.

CPD for teachers

Looking for CPD in maths or science for you or your staff? Life adopts a child-centred, practical and creative approach. The aim is to equip teachers with examples, ideas and tools that can be implemented in the classroom immediately.

Get in touch

To find out more about our programme for schools, please contact the team on education@life.org.uk.

We're not taking bookings for school groups just yet, but if you'd like to make an informal enquiry, please call our team on (0191) 243 8223.

To receive the termly education e-newsletter, please join our mailing list.

Life has been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.