Tom's Trust Supports

Centre of the Cell is an educational and health charity (charity number: 1102034) located in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, East London. Centre of the Cell is an online resource, a science and health education centre and outreach project. Learning activities take place within a purpose built orange pod suspended above the research laboratories in the Blizzard Institute in Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, off Newark Street, Whitechapel. Sessions for groups of children from local schools are given in the Pod during term-time, where they can watch a video about the formation of an embryo and then have access to extensive information about cells by means of interactive games on the surrounding screens. Other educational sessions are run in the Centre of the Cell 'Pod' supported by workshops, mentoring and revision programmes, online resources and internships.

Centre of the Cell's educational aims are to:
*     Raise career aspirations and improve educational attainment
*     Improve the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
*     Inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals
*     Widen participation in higher education
*     Promote learning within the family and community

Centre of the Cell is the first science education centre in the world to be located within medical research laboratories; part of Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London. Since Centre of the Cell opened in 2009, around 60,000 visitors have taken part in ground-breaking educational programmes, designed to both inspire pupils to pursue a career in the sciences and to deliver important public health messages.

Tom's Trust is helping to fund a new project called "Bright Futures". Bright Futures has been devised to enhance the education, career and life prospects of 25 disadvantaged young people aged 14 to 19 each year. The project will play a key role in improving access to university for these young people. A pilot 'Bright Futures' project with a small group of students has been very successful.