The session, held at Corby Technical School, was a mixture of lectures and practicals, led by facilitator Dean Thomas-Lowde, from Operating Theatre Live. He took the Year 10 students through an array of medical subjects, from patient assessment and care, anaesthesia and anatomical dissection, so students investigated the structures of pigs’ heads, eyes, hearts, lungs, liver and digestive systems.

Mr Thomas-Lowde said: ‘Students get the opportunity to match up knowledge that they have already been given in their science curriculum, in a more 3D environment. It is presented in the context of working within the NHS so there they may be inspired to think about a medical healthcare career.’

The students, from Brooke Weston Academy, Corby Technical School and Kettering Science Academy enjoyed the five-hour session at CTS, where they worked on plastic patients before having the dissection sessions.

Dan Hawksley, Second in Science from Brooke Weston Academy said: ‘Today has been a fantastic opportunity for our students from across the three schools to not only work together but get hands-on experience on what it actually would be like in a hospital environment. First of all we learned how to correctly make up and dilute anaesthetic for a patient. We then looked at brain injuries, also the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system, including the optic nerve. Finally we investigated the respiratory and circulatory systems and intubated the sample.’

Teacher Stephen Cox, from Corby Technical School, said: ‘It was a really good day and the students learned a great deal. They were really engaged and involved and it was good for them to learn the application, not just the theory. It is reinforcing their understanding from lessons and applying it to real life situations.’

Science teacher Jenny Brackwell, from Kettering Science Academy said: 'It was an inspirational day which our students really enjoyed and they were buzzing on the way home. It was excellent that the students  actually got a chance to see and touch the anatomical structures for themselves as normally most are only seen in a text book. It became much more interesting and of relevance to them.'

To see photographs from the event, click here.