For its Diamond Jubilee year, the College selected three schools in the North East of England in partnership with the MELISSA bus and the Social Mobility Foundation, an organisation that aims to provide practical opportunities to students from less privileged backgrounds.  

Our brilliant Regional Representative, Dr Ali Robb, worked closely with the Public Engagement team and galvanised local pathologists to deliver fantastic hands-on pathology sessions. The visits provided a taste of pathology to over 400 students, demonstrating the importance of pathology in all aspects of the patient journey and inspiring more people to consider careers in pathology and healthcare science.

"It was such a pleasure to work with schools, pathologists and the MELISSA team in the North East and North Cumbria to celebrate the College’s Diamond Jubilee." – Dr Ali Robb

The events were extremely well received by both students and staff, and by other visitors who were able to attend. For the final event, the mayor of Darlington, Anne-Marie Curry, and the local MP, Peter Gibson, attended the successful Melissa bus event at Queen Elizabeth’s Sixth Form. 

Dr Ali Robb said, "It was such a pleasure to work with schools, pathologists and the MELISSA team in the North East and North Cumbria to celebrate the College’s Diamond Jubilee. It really was the best way possible; by sharing some of what we do with young members of the public and potentially pathologists and healthcare scientists of the future."

Students were asked what they liked about the MELISSA bus and what they had learnt. The Public Engagement team created word clouds from their responses.

Teachers were also surveyed after the events and were very positive about the impact on students. When asked 'What did you like about the MELISSA bus?' responses included 'High levels of enthusiasm from presenters really help the students engage' and 'Something the students would never be exposed to routinely. The presenters were excellent.'

Thank you to all involved.