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This week has showcased hands-on learning, creativity and real-world experience. Students practised antimicrobial testing techniques and welcomed an engineering insight visit from Bulgin. Our STEM Racing UK Team advanced their F1-style car project while building industry sponsorships, and Sixth Form students were celebrated for their continued effort. We also hosted Thomas Gray Primary’s Year 5 pupils for a microscope workshop blending scientific observation with creative writing. Ignite Project Based Learning students performed healthcare scenarios highlighting heart attack symptoms, and one of our students completed impactful work experience in a SEN school, strengthening her confidence and interest in psychology.

Latest News

Christmas Appeal

Once again, this Christmas, Liverpool Life Sciences UTC and The Studio School are coming together to raise funds to support families with food and gifts. Many families are feeling the weight of the cost of living crisis, and your generosity can bring a little joy and relief this holiday season. We are providing hampers and gifts for families.

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An incredible £640 raised so far! Join us in making a difference today. Donations can kindly be made here.

Thank you. 

Non-Uniform Day: Wednesday 17th December

Children can pay a donation of £1 to wear their own clothes for this day only. This still must be appropriate clothing for the school environment. Students are encouraged to wear a Christmas jumper/festive clothing. 

Donations will be collected at the door on the morning of the 17th or, alternatively, you can make payment on parent pay.

If you would like to make any donations to support our Christmas appeal, such as tinned items or toiletries, these can be dropped at reception. 

Thank you for your support with our appeal. 

Friday 19th December Early School Closure

School finishes at an earlier time of 1.30 pm for the Christmas holidays. 

Sixth Form Message

UCAS deadline: 15th December; all UCAS forms to be submitted

Parents/Care Givers Unifrog Accounts: Access the Resources You Need to Support Children

You can now have access to dedicated accounts where you can:

  • Find guides and events specifically for parents/caregivers: How you can help your child choose the right option for post-16.
  • Subscribe to daily summary emails of your child's activity on Unifrog and to their newsletter for parents and caregivers.
  • See you child's tasks and upcoming events, and use all the Unifrog tools that student use themselves.

Parents/caregivers have very limited access to their child's Unifrog records; everything they can see is designed to help parents/caregivers have useful conversations with their child. You can learn more about this in the help guide.

English After-School Provision

Our English department is pleased to offer the following after-school provision for students. They will take place every Monday from 4–4.30pm:

  • Library with Mr Corner – come along and borrow books from our extensive selection.  There will also be a space to read quietly.
  • Culture Club with Mr Murphy – gain a deeper understanding of what is going on in the world, develop your general knowledge and expand your viewpoints and perspectives

For Year 10 only:

  • Support with GCSE content with Miss Jackson 

For Year 11 students only:

  • Target grade 7+ revision with Miss Connolly
  • Target grade 5+ revision with Miss Manzoor
  • Target grade 4+ revision with Mr Mackenzie
  • Grammar and writing development support with Miss Gymnopoulou *This intervention will be particularly helpful for those students whose first language is not English

Innovation & Disruptive Technologies for Future Engineering

Liverpool Life Sciences UTC will attend an event at Liverpool John Moores University, showcasing student engineering projects.

Mr Howard, Employer Partnerships Programme Lead, will join a panel discussing innovation, disruptive tech, and AI’s impact - for good or bad?

Ideal for industry professionals, academics, students, early-career tech enthusiasts, and policymakers curious about future technologies.

When? Thursday 18th December, 9am-1pm. Reserve your spot here.

School Highlights

Hands-On Science: From Brain Dissection to Antimicrobial Testing Practice

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Year 12 Social Scientists have been exploring the structure of the brain in PBL through researching the different structures, producing a model and finally taking part in a brain dissection in our labs. 

Year 10 and 11 lab skills groups have been practising lawn spreading agar plates and loading them in preparation to test their natural antimicrobial extracts.

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They used food dye instead of bacteria to practice successful lawn spreading, and they placed disks soaked in a different food dye around the plate to represent the extracts they will test against bacteria. Using coloured food dyes helps them practice so that when they use real bacteria and antimicrobial extracts next week they are more likely to successfully load their plates. 

The STEM Racing Team

We are pleased to share the Northern Automotive Alliance’s recent feature on our students who are competing in the Formula 1-endorsed STEM Racing UK competition.

As part of the competition, our team of engineering students, Piotr, Lilly, Poppy, Heather, and Jakub are required not only to design and manufacture a miniature F1 car using professional CAD tools, but also to initiate and secure their own sponsorship. In keeping with real motorsport teams, they must independently build industry partnerships to support the development and competitiveness of their car.

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To fulfil this element of the project, our students have formally reached out to organisations within the Northern Automotive Alliance, showing great initiative. Sponsorship will allow the team to enhance their engineering work, while offering companies meaningful visibility at national events attended by schools, industry professionals and educational leaders.

We wish them the best of luck! To read more, click here.

Bringing Engineering to Life: Bulgin’s Visit to Liverpool Life Sciences UTC

This week, Thisen Bird EngTech MIMechE visited Liverpool Life Sciences UTC and The Studio to explore Bulgin's joint Expanded Beam CAD/CAM project and gave students a look into what it's like to work at Bulgin!

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Celebration Event

This week, we celebrated our Year 13 students who have been recognised for achieving strong results in two or more PPEs. Our Head of Sixth Form thanked them for their hard work and dedication to their studies and marked the occasion with a special lunch provided in their honour. “I am incredibly proud of the effort and resilience you’ve shown this year. Your dedication to your studies has truly paid off, and I look forward to seeing all that you achieve next.”

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Personal Electronic Devices Policy Reminder

All personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, are not permitted to be used during the school day. We expect all devices to be switched off and kept out of sight during lessons unless the pupil is using the device as part of a lesson with the permission of their class teacher.

Mobile phones will be confiscated if they are seen, heard or used during the school day unless a pupil has been given permission. The headteacher will determine the length of time they deem proportionate for confiscation.

Thomas Gray Primary School Microscopes Session

On Tuesday, we had a lovely visit from one of our primary schools in the trust. The Year 5 Class from Thomas Gray came to take part in our microscope workshop.

Here we get students to not only engage in our science facilities and note down their observations of their samples. We also wanted the students to work on their writing skills, so after doing descriptive writing of their observations, they were then encouraged to use their imaginations.

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The following task was to write creatively. They had to look at their samples and come up with a short story based on what they saw. Here one young man told me a lovely story about a man and his pet giraffes. Another student wrote a story about visiting the moon.

This session was fantastic, and the students worked exceptionally. Miss Linkman looks forward to meeting their Year 6 class in the new year. 

Health Care Scenarios

Ignite Project Based Learning students have been working on healthcare scenarios, (short devised theatre plays designed to practice responses in healthcare situations) showing the differences in symptoms of a heart attack in men and women as part of their cardiovascular topic.

Along the way, we have worked to improve stagecraft, voice projection and how to stage a performance. This will help the students with their presentation skills, and are vital in today's workplace.

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On Thursday, we gave a performance of these scenarios in the cinema; all the students showed a big improvement in their skills over the time they worked on the scenarios, but the star performer was Zanthe. Her scenario showed an altercation in a shop which resulted in a man suffering a heart attack. Zanthe has no previous performance experience but her acting and stagecraft were excellent! Well done everyone, but especially well done Zanthe!

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Student Work Experience in a SEN School: Gaining Insight and Confidence

Over the October half-term, Amelia spent five days in a SEN High School, working with Year 7 students to support them in reading, writing and maths.

Amelia shared, "At first I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect, but very quickly I realised how rewarding the experience was. Being patient, encouraging, and taking time to explain things properly made a real difference to the students' confidence, and that was amazing to see."

Amelia reflected on her experience, stating, "Working one-to-one and in small groups helped me build connections with the students and understand their individual needs. Seeing their progress, even in small ways, made me feel proud and showed me how important support and patience can be. The experience helped me grow in confidence and showed me a whole new perspective on what supporting others really means."

Alongside working with Year 7 students, Amelia learnt about the Thrive approach. She explained, "Thrive is a practical, evidence-based programme used in schools, early years settings, and with families to support children's emotional and social development. It helps children feel secure, understood, and confident, improving their learning, behaviour, and relationships. Children are assessed using the Thrive online tool, which guides tailored activities and strategies for their individual needs. Seeing the impact of these strategies strengthened my interest in psychology and helped me develop skills for studying it."

In terms of how her work experience has prepared Amelia for the jobs of tomorrow, she said, "My work experience has prepared me for a future in psychology by giving me real insight into how different students think, learn and respond to support."

Amelia’s dedication and learning through her work experience clearly shows her commitment. Well done!

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Find out more about Life Sciences Pathway at Liverpool Life Sciences UTC here.

Sickness procedure

From a safeguarding perspective, students who indicate they are feeling unwell will not be sent out of class as an unwell/injured student unaided may faint on the stairs or corridor. Staff will call first aid and first aid will go to the student. Students should not contact home themselves when they are unwell; staff will call parents if needed.

What's Happening Outside of School

Apprenticeships

1. Aldi Apprenticeships

Career Starter Stores Apprenticeship: UK-wide 

  • No qualifications or previous experience needed
  • 12-15 month programme
  • Achieve a Level 2 Retailer qualification (equivalent to 5 GCSE passes)
  • Chance to complete Functional Skills qualifications in English and Maths

Store Management Apprenticeship: UK-wide

  • Grade 4+ in GCSE English and Maths needed
  • Achieve Level 2 Retailer and Level 3 Team Leader qualifications (equivalent to 2 A-level passes)
  • Ideal for students with big ambitions – fast track to a rewarding career in management

Aldi Apprenticeship Salaries

  • Career Starter: £264 p/w salary (£272 p/w London) 
  • Store Management: £264 p/w starting salary (£272 p/w in London), rising to £371 p/w (£391 p/w in London) in year 3 
  • Paid breaks: worth an extra £1,425 a year on average!

Apply here.

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2. Year 12 and 13 Students: Ernst & Young Apprenticeships 

Applications are now open for apprenticeship opportunities at EY! EY offer apprenticeships across the UK, giving students a chance to earn, learn and work on projects that make an impact from day one.

Why an Apprenticeship at EY?

With opportunities in assurance, consulting and tax, students can lay the foundation for an exciting career, whilst earning a salary and gaining an industry-recognised qualification up to master's level, without the fees. You'll join an inclusive, collaborative culture, with the support of a buddy, counsellor and coach at every step.  

Watch this short video to hear from EY's apprentices and discover what life at EY is really like.

Find out more about their apprenticeships here.

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3. Year 13: Solicitor Apprenticeship

  • Locations: Birmingham, Exeter, London, Manchester
  • Start: September 2026 | Assessment Centres: March 2026
  • Eligibility: 128 UCAS points (ABB) from top 3 A-Levels & 6 GCSEs (Grade 6/B+ in English & Maths)
  • Salary: £23k regional | £26k London
  • Application deadline: 20th February 2026

More information here.

Career Opportunities

1. Year 12 and 13 Students: Discover a Career in Law - An Inside Look at a Global Law Firm

Date: Tuesday 16th December
Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

BEGINNINGS at Baker McKenzie' runs for 18 months and throughout the programme successful applicants will attend regular, engaging events (virtual and in-person) including skills sessions, networking opportunities and a summer work experience placement. Each student will also be assigned a mentor to support them throughout the programme.

Applicants must:

  • Attend, and have attended from age 11, a state-funded, non-fee-paying school/college
  • Be available to attend the 3 day work experience: dates to be confirmed

Register here and find out what the criteria is.

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2. Year 12 and 13 Students: Are You Curious About US culture and Higher Education? 

The Sutton Trust Fullbright US Programme is now taking applications from state-school students.

The fully funded programme includes:

  • Residential events in the UK where students can learn about studying at a US university
  • In-depth advice about applying for funding and scholarships
  • Access to community of like-minded young people from across the UK
  • Opportunities to connect with decisions makers at top universities
  • Tailored guidance for teachers supporting students to apply to US universities 

When? Wednesday 17th December at 5pm. Students can learn more and meet the programme staff at their online information session. 

To register, click here.

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3. The University of Law Personal Statement Workshop

This workshop will show you how to make your UCAS Personal Statement stand out by clearly demonstrating your interest in your chosen course and highlighting your skills and experience.

When? 16th December 4:00-5:00pm

To register, click here.

Work Experience Opportunities

1. Students 13+: Penguin’s Virtual Publishing Programme is Live

This experience gives students a realistic, inspiring look at the roles that shape books, stories, and digital content today. From editing and marketing to design and audio production, they’ll explore the full publishing journey and complete interactive tasks along the way.

Across engaging videos, activities and real publishing examples, students will explore:

  • Editorial: how editors shape a manuscript into a book
  • Design: cover creation, visual identity & branding
  • Marketing & Publicity: reaching the right audience
  • Sales & Consumer Insight: understanding the book market
  • Career pathways: from apprenticeships to publishing roles

Students finish with:

  • A completion certificate 
  • Real insight into the publishing world
  • A portfolio-ready activity 

To find out more, click here.

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2. Year 12 and 13 Students: National Cyber Force, Application Masterclass 

For students interested in learning more about applying to an intelligence agency and the vetting process. National Cyber Force offers a wide range of careers including cybersecurity, tech engineering, language specialists, project management, information management and analysis.

The National Cyber Force (NCF) is a partnership between GCHQ, Ministry of Defence, Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory).

There are only 200 spaces available for this event - priority will be given to students who meet the criteria.

When? Friday 30th January, 10:00am-12:00pm

Register here.

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3. Mersey Care NHS

At Mersey Care, volunteers play a vital role in providing compassionate, high-quality care. By joining us, you can support patients and families, develop new skills, and gain valuable healthcare experience.

Volunteering allows you to help your community, meet a diverse team of professionals, and make a real impact on people’s well-being. If you’re passionate about helping others, become an NHS volunteer and contribute your time, energy, and compassion today.

If you have any questions, please reach out to their Volunteer Services team: [email protected]. They're here to help you every step of the way.

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4. Hospitality, Insurance, Tech Leadership and Retail Work Experience

Work Experience Finder

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5. Year 12: Unilever Port Sunlight Year Work Experience

Programme details, including key dates, and an application preparation sheet, are available on the All About Futures website. Applications, to be submitted via an online form, open at 9am on Monday 12th January.

The application deadline is Mon 26th January at 5pm.

14-18 Year Olds: Young Blue Room Print Club

Blue Room is an inclusive art group for learning disabled and neurodivergent adults, run by the Bluecoat Arts Centre in Liverpool.

This new group welcomes individuals with a learning disability who enjoy being creative. Thanks to Health Lottery Foundation funding, it’s free to join.

Explore different art forms like printmaking, create your own work, collaborate with others, build confidence, and make new friends.

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Dates for your calendar:

There will be 8 sessions on Saturdays in 2026, all 11am-1pm:

21st February, 21st March, 18th April, 16th May, 13th June, 19th September, 24th October and 21st November. 

If you would like to take part, please get in touch with Blue Room Manager Becky Waite on 07549079500 or email [email protected]

Career Guides to Help People in the Liverpool City Region Make the Best Career Decisions: Freeport

The Liverpool City Region Freeport is a special economic zone where businesses can trade goods faster and cheaper, boosting growth, jobs, and the local economy. It covers imports, exports, logistics, storage, processing, transport, research, advanced manufacturing, and green technology. Careers include freight forwarding, border security, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, offering opportunities to work in a highly skilled, innovative, and rapidly expanding sector that connects the UK to global trade.

To find out more, click here.

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LCR Be More

No cost. No barriers. No limits.

BeMore is open to everyone – whatever your background or starting point.
Get started with BeMore here.

Liverpool’s Mental Health Support for Children and Young People Training

  • Understanding Mental Health Support for Children and Young People in Liverpool - 15/12/2025 -10-11.30am
  • Behaviour as Communication – 16/12/25 - 12-1pm
  • Understanding and Managing Anxiety – 16/12/25 - 4-5pm 
  • ROAR Response to racial trauma – 18/12/25 - 10am-4.30pm

To book, click here.

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Email [email protected] for more information.

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Book your tickets here.

Vaping – We would like to remind you that we do not allow students to bring items such as cigarettes, lighters, matches or e-cigarettes/ vapes into school.

Zero Tolerance of Abuse - The NST has a zero-tolerance approach to abusive language, violence, aggression or harassment towards employees, governors and volunteers.

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