|
The Old Malthouse is owned by the Cothill Educational Trust and will be run in affiliation with the Natural History Museum. The Cothill Educational Trust has years of experience, not only in providing first class education to children of prep school age but also in organising residential courses for specialist study. The Natural History Museum, which needs no introduction, will be the research partner in designing and implementing the specialist science courses.
The Old Malthouse has one central aim – to ignite and establish a real fascination for and love of matters scientific in young children. The first topic studied at the Old Malthouse will concern the identification of trees. We will take part in an international undertaking sponsored by the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation in New York to register all tree life on earth with the Tree-BOL (Barcode Of Life) website.
The pupils will take part in this international scientific endeavour by identifying, gathering and uploading information from at least one individual tree through:
a) Traditional identification by morphology, using field guides that have been tailored to the locality.
b) Automated leaf-shape-based identification using advanced computer technology.
c) DNA barcoding. This will focus on the extraction and amplification of DNA from the specimens, prior to dispatch to the NHM for sequencing. Each sample will be identified, processed and uploaded to the Tree-BOL database by the individual who has prepared it, thus each child will have made their own unique contribution to the Barcode Of Life.
Courses will be residential and will take place over five week days during term times. Teaching will be supplemented by supervised recreational activities, making use of the coastal setting and extensive sporting and leisure facilities available on the Old Malthouse site. ‘Prep’ will consist of writing up the day’s events in journal form in addition to scientist-led discussions on DNA and its many implications for life in the modern world.
Children, in classes of approximately 15, will be accompanied by a teacher from their school who will participate in every activity alongside the pupils throughout the course. All scientific guidance will be provided by specialists from the Natural History Museum or those working in close conjunction with them. There will be two resident members of staff to help run the recreational and sporting side of the week.
The Old Malthouse is being completely renovated to provide cosy, modern dormitories for children and comfortable well equipped accommodation for teachers. All catering will be provided on site.
  
| 
