Pounds 100,000 Computer Suite at Life Centre

Computers worth pounds 100,000 have been added to the education facilities at Newcastle’s Centre for Life.

The new facilities will enable school groups to carry out thorough science investigations as part of their GCSE and A-level course work.

Funding for the room came in the form of a pounds 55,000 grant from One NorthEast with the remainder coming from the Life Science Centre.

The new computer suite in the Centre’s Swan Room was opened yesterday (MON) by One NorthEast chairman Margaret Fay.

Noel Jackson, head of education at the Life Science Centre, said: “If pupils are to achieve good results in science, then they need to score well in practical experiment investigations. The computer suite enables us to offer workshops where students can carry out sophisticated practical experiments and follow them through with in- depth analysis and interpretation of their results.

“Whereas many schools would only have limited numbers of the specialist kit needed, we are equipped with class sets.”

Mrs Fay visited the Centre for Life yesterday and met pupils from Greencroft Comprehensive School in Durham, who were taking part in the first workshop to use the new computer suite.

She said: “This is a wonderful resource that will really bring science to life and hopefully excite young people about the potential uses of the subject, beyond school and into the workplace.”