Barton Peveril Students Supported by AlphaLabs

Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (@bartonpeveril) has received a £60,000 grant from Alpha Laboratories (@alphalabs), to further support and enhance its students’ education at the Hampshire-based College.

Alpha Laboratories, based in Eastleigh, is a family run business that provides quality supply and support to UK and international scientists for their diagnostic and laboratory product needs.

The grant will provide the College and its students with new, state-of-the-art equipment for its Science Centre, classroom resources and materials, extra tuition for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and a range of employability experiences to benefit their future planning and destinations.

As part of this extensive donation, Barton Peveril students have been invited to visit Alpha Laboratories in the October half term to attend a series of presentations and workshops from professionals in the scientific field. The sessions included are: Introduction to Diagnostics and Using Laboratory Products; Background to Faecal Immunochemical Testing; COVID-19 – Journey and Sample Transportation; Veterinary Medicine; and Mini-Pipetting Academy (involving the hands-on use of laboratory equipment).

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.

Speaking on the grant, Nathan Cheung said:

‘The financial generosity of Alpha Laboratories Ltd has already supported our students immensely. They have also kindly given up their time to participate in our Employability Talking Heads programme, providing valuable insight and discussion about employability for our students. Alpha Laboratories have also organized an amazing opportunity for our science students in the October half term, where they will investigate various medical diagnostics. We certainly look forward to strengthening our links with this local company so that our students can benefit from their events going forwards.’

Michelle Holland, Sales & Marketing Director at Alpha Laboratories, also commented on the grant:

‘In what has been a particularly challenging time for young people, Alpha Laboratories is delighted to be able to help support the students at Barton. The pandemic has highlighted how important the unsung science heroes working in research, with vaccines, and in the NHS (to name but a few) are. The team welcomes the opportunity to help shape the next generation and nurture UK scientific talent.’