Can you transplant a pig’s heart into a human? How many miles of blood vessels do we have in our body?
These were just some of the questions covered in the Year 6 assembly for pupils from Shakespeare Primary School, Harehills, Leeds, as Colin Holton, Clinical Director for Leeds Children’s Hospital and phlebotomists Shabana Jabbar and Akosua Boaitley-Biko (Nana) brought science to life for the primary school local to St James’ Hospital.
The year 6 pupils have been learning about the circulatory system and also focusing on persuasive writing. One of their class tasks was to write to Colin and persuade him to visit them.
“I was so impressed by the knowledge and attention of the pupils from Shakespeare Primary.” Said Colin, “They had learnt so much already about the human body and it was really great to hear their questions and give them the opportunity to see face to face some of the tools and techniques we use at the hospital to take blood.
“We mainly see children who are poorly at the Children’s Hospital and so to be able to engage with them in a completely different setting, and to see their enthusiasm for learning, this was a great experience for us and something we’d like to do more of.”
Shabana Jabbar, Phlebotomy Team Leader for the Leeds General Infirmary, said, “We attend to children from across the city, and some children can feel intimidated at the thought of the phlebotomy procedure, so to be able to get out and show these young people what we do and how quick and painless a blood test can be, to demystify what we do, it felt really good.
“We also spoke to the pupils about our time at school and how we chose our current career, so maybe one of them will aspire to do something similar. Phlebotomy does not receive as much awareness as other roles in the hospital, so Nana and I were grateful for the invitation to attend with Colin, and for the interest in our roles. The pupils were very interested and engaged throughout the visit.”
There are more than 700 daily visits to Leeds Children’s Hospital from young people and children. Shakespeare Primary is the closest school to St James’ Hospital, where the Head Quarters for the Trust are located.
Rebekah Wilson, Deputy Head Teacher said,
“We had a wonderful assembly with the medical staff from Leeds Teaching Hospitals. I was so proud of all our year 6 pupils for how much they knew, and also for how enthusiastically they engaged with the team. We can all appreciate how a face-to-face learning experience makes such a difference to people and I’m extremely grateful to Colin and the Trust’s phlebotomy team for responding to our letters and for taking time to visit in person.”
Shakespeare Primary School is a multicultural inner-city primary school. Our curriculum aims to nurture a sense place and belonging within the wider Leeds community. The ongoing partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals has played a part in achieving this through events such as the NHS job shop, hospital staff visiting our Parent Voice sessions and inspiring surgeons visiting assemblies complete with scrubs and great stories! Long may the partnership continue.
You can find out more about blood testing at Leeds in our resources section.