Undergraduates from our Biological Sciences department have been helping local schools to make the most of their green spaces by monitoring and fostering local wildlife.

The Schools’ Biodiversity Project helps schools to learn about the surrounding wildlife, from beetles to birds, as well as create places for them to live. This includes introducing light boxes to monitor moths, pond dipping and setting camera traps. When needed, students are paired with trained undergraduates to help run curriculum-based projects.

Find out more about our Schools’ Biodiversity Project

We’re a leading institution in the development of novel therapies for rare diseases. Our Rare Disease Day - running alongside the international event - is an opportunity for sixth form students to attend lectures and get hands-on experience in our lab practicals.

Click here to watch last year's Rare Disease Day talks.

Click here to find out more about Rare Disease Day.

Our academics have created short films based on their research, to give A level teachers valuable classroom resources, including learning outcomes and discussion points to raise and engage with their students.

• You think you're stressed? Try being a plant!
• The secret life of your colourful aquarium fishes
• Manipulation of RNA splicing to correct disease mutations
• Birds blind to the danger of windfarms: How green is green energy?

We organise frequent visits to local schools and museums to talk about our work. We also welcome visiting groups to our department.

Suggested talks:

Suggested topics:

To find out more email our outreach officer, Prof Lazlo Bogre

We have prepared a range of videos and resources for students that are applicable to several year groups.

• Surgical infections

Dr James McEvoy’s presentation looks at infectious disease through the lens of surgical infections. It describes the history of the problem, our modern success in reducing it, and the problems posed by antibiotic resistance. It ends with some questions for you to go away and think about.

For further reading, the video links well with our paper Titanium Kirschner Wires Resist Biofilms Better Than Stainless Steel and Hydroxyapatite-coated Wires: An In Vitro Study which was recently published in collaboration

• Immunology and infection

Dr Walter Lucchesi welcomes you all while he explains the content of his course on Immunology and Infection. This second-year course is student centred and is based on active learning; with every lecture followed by the analysis of clinical case studies and relative assessment.

You will learn to integrate complex material and to focus on processes rather than facts.

• Brushing up your field techniques

A great guide on how to brush up on your field techniques in your garden or outside space. You don’t need any state-of-the-art equipment – just enthusiasm!

To coincide with British Science Week (6-15 March 2020), Royal Holloway has launched a free, four-week online course; Understanding Biological Energy - on the leading social learning platform, FutureLearn.com.

A new research paper by Professor Gerhard Leubner and Dr Jake Chandler from the Department of Biological Sciences shows that seeds can grow in space. Check out this interview about Rocket Science featuring Tim Peake and Dr Jake Chandler to find out more.

Finally, even if at home, students can take part in this years BioBlitz! Spend an hour or two searching for plants and animals in your garden or safe space and record your findings on the free app – it’s great fun!

Dr Liz Whittaker, an expert in paediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Imperial College, delivered our annual Jack Pridham Lecture in October 2020 on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on child health.

Watch this fascinating and informative talk on our YouTube channel