About Us
Mission Statement
SparkLab is the brainchild of two former Heads of Chemistry, with over 20 years experience of teaching science to GCSE and A-Level between us. In schools across England and Wales, we helped hundreds of young people develop their own love of science, and go on to get great grades! But we also saw too many kids who thought they “couldn’t do” science. When we had our own young children that opened our eyes to the wonderfully free way that pre-schoolers “do science” as they explore their world. They might be too young to hold a pencil, but give them a lab coat and they’d be right at home - constantly investigating, experimenting and inventing! So we wondered...could we help more little ones nurture their inner scientist?
Could we help more big ones rekindle the spark of scientific curiosity? A well-timed Instagram shout-out convinced us the demand was there, and we haven’t looked back. Now we’re on a mission to put the wonder of science learning back into science education with weekly toddler classes, primary workshops and secondary science tuition.
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Young children LOVE to explore. They experiment and investigate and invent in a totally natural way all day long. Our preschool sessions aim to channel their curiosity and to encourage and support them in questioning and hypothesising from an early age. Every week we cover a different topic, for example, the human body, animal habitats, light and sound, volcanoes...and much more.
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Our primary workshops run in school holidays and contain science experiments and STEM challenges relating to a specific theme such as Halloween, Christmas and Summer Festival.
Individual and group tuition is available for Key Stages 3-5. These sessions are planned and delivered following the specified scheme of work and utilise a variety of resources to ensure that not only progress is made but exam technique is developed.
Meet The SparkLab Team
Rhi and Mel met at Cardiff University whilst studying Chemistry having discovered that sharing a wicked sense of humour helps with long stints in the lab. Both teachers in secondary schools until 2020, they teach all science subjects to GCSE and are both A-level Chemistry specialists. Rhi is also a first-language Welsh speaker.
Mel
Science educator and Director
Mel was born to teach. A wise-cracking baker with 12 years teaching (Chemistry/Science) and leadership experience in schools, Mel adds fun into science education the way she adds sweet stuff to her recipes – not just the icing, but the whole rainbow layer cake. Because science is meant to be wonder-ful!
Rhi
Science educator and Director
Rhi has an MChem, a PGCE and a truckload of creativity. After more than a decade of teaching and leadership roles in schools, she decided that using just two out of the three wasn’t enough. Now she teaches science her way – with imagination and energy to keep wonder alive for kids of all ages.
Our Sparks
The Kids
Our Sparks make our sessions what they are. Whether we're entertaining Pre-schoolers, Holiday Campers, or Party Goers, we will match their energy and open their eyes to the wonder of Science.