Future Researchers in the Making: ARK Burlington Danes Students Shine at Mohn Centre Health Sciences Summer School

Twenty-two Year 12 students from ARK Burlington Danes Academy have completed an immersive week-long health sciences research skills programme at Imperial College London's Mohn Centre, culminating in a celebration event.

The Mohn Centre Summer School, which ran from 29 June to 3 July 2026, offered students from the White City school an intensive week of scientific research, communication training, and skills development, laying the foundations for success in higher education and beyond.

A Week of Workshops, Research & Discovery

The Summer School offered students an ambitious and carefully curated programme, designed to give them a genuine taste of university life and research culture whilst building a toolkit of skills they can carry with them long into the future.

At the heart of the week was an introduction to the world of academic research. Students received scientific poster training from Imperial's Medical Education Innovation and Research Centre (MEdIC) and were guided through the research cycle by Dr Kim Foley, Research Fellow at the Mohn Centre, exploring how research questions are formed, investigated, and communicated. Throughout the week, students worked in small groups with Alex Boskovic, Ellen Fletcher-McHugh, Aglaia Freccero and Abi Riley, PhD researchers from the Mohn Centre's PhD Training Programme, learning about cutting-edge health research projects spanning topics including mental health, health inequalities, smartphone use, and AI. Each group developed their own original scientific research poster, presenting their findings to an expert audience at the Friday celebration event. The programme's research skills framework was developed in partnership with The Brilliant Club, whose expertise in training PhD students to support young people from less advantaged backgrounds towards accessing universities ensured that the programme was both rigorous and accessible.

"All of the public speaking and all of the oracy and everything that we've learnt, it will transcribe into any career path that anybody wants to go into… that was the most valuable thing." Year 12 student Ark Burlington Danes Academy

Alongside the research strand, a significant focus of the week was on communication - a skill that sits at the heart of both academic and professional life. The Speakers Trust, a leading organisation in public speaking and communication training, delivered an energetic and engaging workshop helping students to find and project their voices with confidence. This was complemented by a session on oracy for employability delivered by Voice21, the national charity that supports schools to build speaking and listening into the curriculum and wider school life. Voice21 explored with students how the ability to articulate ideas, listen actively, and engage confidently in discussion underpins success in education, work, and life. This was complimented by an improvisation workshop focused on the core skills of teamwork, active listening, and building on each other's ideas - the perfect preparation for the final showcase.

The week also offered students a rare and memorable window into life as a university scientist. A visit to Imperial's Molecular Sciences Research Hub, led by Dr Trevor Ferris whose research focuses on the analysis of chemical compounds, gave students the opportunity to tour state-of-the-art labs and hear first-hand about cutting-edge scientific research. Students also took part in a hands-on undergraduate-style chemistry tutorial with Dr Charlotte Sutherell, Principal Teaching Fellow in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, exploring the fascinating world of isomers and experiencing first-hand what it feels like to learn science at university level.

Supported by Dame Marit Mohn OBE

The Summer School was made possible through the generous support of Dame Marit Mohn OBE, who attended the Friday celebration event to see the students present their work in person. Her investment in this programme reflects a deep commitment to widening access to research and ensuring that young people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to discover their potential.

Winning Posters

Two posters were recognised for outstanding achievement at the celebration event, judged against criteria spanning poster design, research need, research method, and oral presentation skills.

It takes a high level of reasoning skills to come to this understanding in just a few hours. Ellen Fletcher-McHugh Mohn Centre PhD Student and Summer School Mentor

The first winning poster, "The Impact of Sociodemographic Inequalities on Young People with Scoliosis", was praised for its compelling identification of a gap in the research landscape and its clear, accessible communication of a complex and important public health issue. The group's PhD mentor, Ellen Fletcher-McHugh, reflected on a moment during the week that spoke to the exceptional level of thinking the students brought to their project:

"Once they had finished their sessions on health inequalities, it was fantastic to see the level of thoughtfulness they brought to the topic. Without being prompted, one of the groups asked questions related to intersectionality - it takes a high level of reasoning skills to come to this understanding in just a few hours. Once they began to consider the interplay between sociodemographic factors such as deprivation, ethnicity, education levels and first language, they gained a much greater depth of understanding of the complexity of health inequalities. This progress in their skills contributed greatly to the success of the winning group."

The second winning poster, "The Feasibility of Study Apps Improving Academic Attainment - Randomised Controlled Trial", was recognised for its rigorous approach to study design and its original and thought-provoking exploration of one of the most pressing questions facing young people today.

Both winning posters demonstrated a remarkable level of scientific literacy, critical thinking, and communication skill - particularly impressive given that many of the students had never encountered a scientific research poster before the start of the week.

The Power of Peer Learning

Central to the success of the programme was the involvement of PhD researchers, who worked closely with student groups throughout the week, guiding them through their research projects and supporting them to develop their posters and presentations.

The improvement in my group's presenting abilities from just one week of practice and coaching was remarkable. Alex Boskovic Mohn Centre PhD Student and Summer School Mentor

The impact of the week was felt just as strongly by the students themselves. The carefully crafted programme, combining research mentoring, public speaking workshops, oracy training, and improvisation, created an environment in which students felt supported and empowered to grow. As one student reflected:

"I think that supportive environment really helped us kind of thrive and give us a lot more confidence than we probably would have had without… that was a big part of us kind of blossoming this week."

For many students, the practical value of the week extended beyond the programme itself, with several already thinking about how to use their experience in their university applications.  One student commented: "I can for sure write about this in my personal statement about the skills that I've learned… teamwork… public speaking skills… improv skills… all of these skills are important."

 And for many of the students, the week also offered something less tangible but perhaps even more significant, a sense that university and research are within their reach. As one student put it: "The fact that we took that trip [to university]… made it feel almost more accessible to us."

Professor Mireille Toledano, Director of the Mohn Centre, reflected on the significance of the programme: "This innovative and bespoke programme was designed to fuse health sciences with the development of oracy and communication skills, giving A-level science students not only a deeper understanding of public health research, but the confidence to speak about it articulately and persuasively. At its core, this is a programme built on equity of opportunity; ensuring that young people from state school backgrounds have access to the kind of rich, immersive experience that can genuinely shape their futures. Improving how the next generation communicates about health sciences matters enormously - both for their own prospects and for the future of public health research itself. Watching these students present their work with such confidence and sophistication was a powerful reminder of why this kind of investment matters. I am enormously proud of everything they achieved this week and deeply grateful to Dame Marit Mohn OBE for making it possible."

Looking Ahead

The Summer School forms part of a broader ambition at the Mohn Centre to widen access to research and higher education for students from state school backgrounds. An evaluation of the programme, conducted by Brilliant Consulting, will inform future delivery and support the expansion of the programme to other schools in the area and beyond.

Charlotte Gredal, Mohn Centre Scientific Manager and programme curator said: "When I first conceived this programme, I wanted to create something truly immersive that would give young people the skills, confidence, and connections to see themselves as future researchers and leaders.

The Mohn Centre exists to advance research in child and adolescent health, and the ideas, questions, and perspectives these students brought to the PhD projects were genuinely valuable. We are already looking at how we can expand the programme, and we are committed to ensuring that young people remain not just the subject of our research, but active participants in shaping it."

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For more information about the Mohn Centre and its work, please visit https://www.imperial.ac.uk/a-z-research/mohn-centre-child-health/