Two days. One real lab. Yours.
The Lab Immersion strand of Future Scholars. Two days inside a working university research lab — four hours one-to-one with the principal investigator, eight hours at the bench running your own mini-project. Not a tour, not a lecture hall. The actual lab, with the people doing the research — no middlemen in between.
A fixed structure — both days at the bench.
Most “research experiences” for school students mean sitting through a demonstration or walking through a building. This is not that. You work at a bench, with real samples, on a question the lab actually cares about.
- Morning — lab induction and safety briefing, then straight to the bench for supervised sample preparation
- Afternoon — hands-on work alongside the researchers who run this equipment every day
- Morning — you run the core of your mini-project and handle real data
- Afternoon — analysis, then you present your findings to the PI and get direct, unhurried feedback
£2,000 — and that is the whole price.
- Covers the two days in full — all materials and equipment time
- The principal investigator’s four one-to-one hours
- Eight supervised hours at the bench
- A written record of your mini-project
- Does not cover travel or accommodation in London
There is no “premium tier” and no upsell. £2,000 is the whole price.
Open now — dates and places.
For students weighing a science degree — who want to know first.
Lab Immersion is built for a student seriously weighing a degree in science, engineering, or medicine, and who wants to know what research actually feels like before committing years to it. It suits students in Year 11 through 13 (or international equivalents) with school-level science behind them — no prior lab experience is assumed, and the PI sets the mini-project to your level.
If you want a line to list on a form, there are cheaper ways to get one. If you want two days that tell you something true about whether this path is yours — and material you can write about honestly in a UCAS statement — this is built for exactly that.
The honest answers.
Is this a summer school?
No. A summer school teaches a syllabus to a room of students. Lab Immersion puts one student at one bench in a working university lab, with the PI, for two days. Typically six students per cohort, each on their own mini-project.
Do I need prior lab experience?
No. The day-one induction assumes you are starting from school-level science. The principal investigator scales the mini-project to what you can take on.
Will this help my UCAS application?
It can — but not the way a certificate does. What it gives you is something specific and true to write about: a real project, real data, and your own account of two days in research. Admissions tutors can tell the difference between that and “I attended a programme”. We don’t guarantee offers — no honest programme can.
Is it safe?
Yes. Every session runs under the lab’s standard safety protocols with supervision throughout. The day-one safety briefing is not a formality, and the mini-project is chosen to be done safely by someone at your stage.
Who actually supervises me?
The principal investigator hosts the two days and gives the one-to-one hours. Bench work is supervised by the PI and members of their research group — active researchers, not demonstrators hired for the week.
Are these the same academics behind your Seminars and Academic Mentorship?
Often, yes. The PIs who host Lab Immersion are active university researchers; many also lead our Professor Seminars or take one-to-one Academic Mentorship.