Catching them young
PICTURE: From left, ENTHUSE Partnership lead teacher Christopher Handley, Archbishop Holgate's School; Beth Hartwell and Amy Young, Huntington School; Pauline Aldrett, Malton School and Kirsty Butterworth, Selby College
Schoolchildren in York and north Yorkshire will learn crucial lessons about cancer through a significant investment by York Against Cancer.
We’re spending £20,000 on an “ENTHUSE Partnership” run by the University of York-based National STEM Learning Centre to spread key cancer awareness and prevention messages to students in six schools around the district.
Archbishop Holgate School, York High School, Malton School, the Vale of York Academy, Huntington School and Selby College are all participating.
During the partnership, biology teachers from each school will work on their professional development in areas relating to cancer.
One aspect will be teacher placements with the research scientists from the Jack Birch Unit at the University of York. We fund a £1.3m research programme for the JBU to investigate bladder cancer.
The partnership sees teachers and research scientists working together for the first time to devise teaching modules to enhance schoolchildren’s education. Schoolchildren will even get the chance of practical experience of the University of York’s state-of-the-art teaching laboratories in the Department of Biology.
The partnership focuses on biology and health education. In biology, giving teachers new resources to explain complex processes such as mitosis (the process of cell division that becomes unregulated in cancers) could help communicate difficult concepts. Other work might explore DNA; the difference between benign and malignant conditions; and cancer risk factors.
The partnership will also help schools fulfil the new health education curriculum which becomes mandatory in 2020. Here, it will assist teachers to educate pupils about sun exposure and skin cancer; healthy lifestyles and weight; the link between inactivity and cancer; tobacco and lung cancer; the benefits of screening and self-examination; and immunisation and vaccination.
Dr Simon Baker, Deputy Director of the JBU, explained why he was spearheading the ENTHUSE Partnership for York Against Cancer as a member of the charity’s Cancer Awareness/Education Committee.
“Half of current students will get cancer in their lifetimes,” he said. “Cancer incidence is on the rise generally in the UK, with children’s cancers going up 15 per cent since the ‘90s.
“One child in 500 will get cancer before the age of 14 and UK cancer rates are higher than in 90 per cent of the world. Despite these statistics, very few adults understand the basic biology of cancer or feel comfortable talking about it. We can change that.”
Fran Dainty, Head of Education at the National STEM Learning Centre, said: “I am delighted to welcome York Against Cancer to join our ENTHUSE Partnership supporters. The Partnership will focus on raising awareness of cancer prevention, strengthening the vital work York Against Cancer does in the local area.
“It will also help STEM Learning’s mission to change the lives of thousands of young people, nurturing future talent for crucial STEM skills.”
As well as handing students vital life lessons in cancer awareness, the partnership seeks to engage lower-attaining pupils with science and help them improve their results. Young ‘role model’ researchers from the University of York will visit schools to talk to students about cancer-related topics and careers such as cancer research, which are often overlooked. It’s expected that participation in the project will enhance the CVs of students and teachers alike.
The schools will also build links with York Against Cancer, with our charity conducting assemblies, running after-school clubs or helping schools hold awareness and fundraising events.