Professor Brian Cox returned to his native Chadderton to launch the Active Science in Schools Project at Boundary Park's event centre. The partnership between Oldham Athletic Community Trust and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca aims to bring science to life for primary school pupils across Oldham.
The programme combines physical activity with scientific learning to make STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects more engaging and accessible for children in the borough.
Council Support and Vision
James Kington, Oldham Council's Director of Growth, welcomed the project as an investment in the borough's future workforce. He highlighted it alongside other major developments including the SportsTown sports, education and wellbeing campus at Boundary Park and the Northern Roots urban farm and eco-park project.
Kington said the initiative reflects the borough's need to develop a skilled workforce. "That understanding of science and technology goes so deep down into everyone's job nowadays," he stated, pointing to the importance of embedding these skills across the local economy.
Launch Event and Panel Discussion
Professor Cox joined a panel discussion at the launch alongside AstraZeneca UK Chair Shaun Grady, Oldham Athletic Community Trust Chief Executive Sandy Mitchell and Dr Lynne Bianchi, founder of The Great Science Share for Schools, an annual campaign that inspires young people's scientific question-asking.
What Happens Next
The six-week Active Science in Schools programme will launch from the next academic year, initially working with six primary schools.