Budding young scientists had the chance to visit the University of East London as part of a pioneering project.

Year 10 students from Sarah Bonnell School have been taking part in a 10-week science club scheme, which also featured practical experiments and tuition from UEL postgraduates.

The culmination of the project saw teams from both the Deanery Road, Stratford, school and Clapton Girls’ Academy in Hackney pitch project posters to a panel of university academics.

“I was very impressed with the quality, skill, and depth of knowledge,” said Dr Mihaela Anca Ciupala, senior lecturer at UEL’s school of architecture, computing, and engineering.

“The students really have open and inquisitive minds. They chose topics that are current, which is a good way of bringing science and society concerns together.”

The scheme was designed to introduce school students to science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics and to encourage UEL students to share their passion for science.

Nusrat Begum, from the winning Sarah Bonnell team, said she was interested in forensic science and enjoyed learning about DNA extraction and working on their winning poster about bacteria and antibiotics.

“We have had the chance to learn outside of school and got to try experiments about bacteria and antibiotics” she said.

“It makes me more excited about trying new things in the future.”

Katherine Wilks, a member of the winning Clapton Girls’ Academy team, said the experience had helped her to think more about doing a science subject at university.

“We chose climate change and engineering because we are young and this is a big issue, and it gives us room to explore the science side of it,” she said.

“I never considered engineering before, so it has been a surprise, as well as winning the competition, which I was not expecting.”