Animal & Plant Health Agency Open Day

Our Applied Science students enjoyed a fantastic STEM Open Day at the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) Headquarters in Addlestone. Students met scientists and toured the labs to find out more about the science carried out to protect the UK from animal diseases, many of which are zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans).

Students learnt about scientific research, surveillance and diagnostic work and the wide range of career opportunities on offer in science and administrative roles, including apprenticeships. Many left the facility very excited to think that one day they could be working in this field to protect animal health and the spread of diseases.

Thank you so much to APHA for inviting our students to your headquarters and teaching them about the work carried out to protect animal health.

Last month we visited the APHA laboratory in Addlestone, where we got to experience four different talks and activities around; bacteriology, virology, pathology and animal studies. We also had the opportunity to go on a tour around the labs, where we could see scientists at work. We received a brief description on the kind of work going on in their labs and the kinds of diseases they had worked with in the past. We also got to visit the animal centre, and a few of us were able to go on a golf buggy. There was also an interactive game for our groups to play against each other; this included matching up the names of diseases to the animal it is found in (sheep, cow, pig, horse, dog, and chicken). At the end of our tour, we evaluated the trip, and decided that this is where most of us would see ourselves in the future, assisting the next generation of science with the Apprenticeship options available at the Facility.

– Oliver – Student: Level 3 National Diploma in Applied Science – Forensic