Independent Schools Testimonials

Claires Court Independent School, Maidenhead, Berkshire

We were looking for something for our Key Stage 2 to experience for Science week. My headteacher forwarded me the link to this CSI day. Jacqui was extremely helpful from the first email and was able to tailor an experience to meet our needs. We did 2 days altogether, one for Years 3 & 4 and one for Years 5 & 6. Even with such a big group, the children were engaged and excited by all the activities. The adults were equally as excited and many parents commented on how animated the children had been about their day when they got home. Jacqui and Sophie were great with the children, well organised and enthusiastic. I’m so glad we decided to have them visit. It will be an experience the children will talk about for a long time and I think we have a few budding forensic scientists off the back of the days provided by Pulse Education. Thank you!

Lincoln Minster School, Lincoln, Lincolnshire

What an amazing day! We booked Jacqui to come to our school to deliver her full forensic workshop day to a joint group of Yr 5 and Yr 7 students. From the moment we started until way past the end of the day, the buzz from the students was phenomenal.

The logistics of the operation are significant (imagine planning a six-hour practical lesson for 80 students!) but Jacqui sailed through the whole thing with ease – it was a most impressive operation. Before the workshop, Jacqui made organisation from the school end very simple – a quick response to queries, all the paperwork you could hope for, and the information on the website to back it up. 

On the day, despite the volume of equipment looking quite daunting, Jacqui managed it all with the efficiency of someone well-practised. It says a lot that she has so much practice with her workshop, she is obviously busy as a result of being successful and what she delivers is the reason she is successful.

During the day, Jacqui engaged brilliantly with the students. They looked at fingerprints, handprints, footprints, hair samples, fibre samples – that was just in the morning. One of the best things was that the students all got hands-on practice doing this and they got to take their own ‘identity’ away with them – carefully packaged samples showing their footprints and everything. Everything the students needed to do this was provided too which is another reason why the day ran so smoothly.

It must be said that by now, almost everyone else in the school was suffering from extreme envy. Why didn’t we get to do that (from the Yr8s) I can’t believe how lucky they are (from Yr12!!). I just want to see what is going on – it looks like fun (Yr 11). And those comments were made before the students started the afternoon activity. From the moment I walked back into the classroom, having left 30 odd Yr 5’s to get changed, I knew the day had been a stunning success. The students looked simply spectacular in their white suits and masks. I forced them all to gather in the playground whilst the rest of the school were still out on their lunch break – they didn’t care. The older students couldn’t help themselves and smiled as the Yr 5 and 7 grinned madly in reply. The younger students marched across to the sports hall singing the Oompa Loompa song.

In the afternoon the students got to investigate a crime scene. As we all know some students can be quiet and some can take over but each student had a different job in their small group – a role to play at the crime scene. They took their roles very seriously, they all played a part, they all explained who the culprit was and why they all described the evidence they had collected and analysed. Fantastic engagement all around.

At the end of the day, the Yr 5’s went back to their school, quite a few still in the white suits, clutching their fingerprint keyring and without a doubt, telling mums and dads how great a day they had at the senior school. My Yr 7 students finish a bit later than the Yr 5’s so at this point I expected to take over supervising the Yr 7 whilst Jacqui packed up, but no, Jacqui kept them going, talked to them, asked questions and gave out wristbands that the students – now a week later – are still proudly displaying.

I cannot thank Jacqui enough. The organisation and the quality of the day she provided were amazing, well worth the cost and I will definitely be using her again!

St Swithun’s School, Winchester, Hampshire

Pulse CSI came to St Swithun’s to provide our year 8 pupils and our invited guest pupils [ girls who will be joining us in year 9] with a forensic science workshop. Jacqui quickly gained their attention with her questions and excellent explanation of what the day would involve. From the very beginning, the girls were fully engaged in a wide range of stretch and challenge activities. During the morning session all pupils were involved in practical, ‘hands-on’ CSI activities, which included learning about the processes and applications used at a crime scene such as fingerprinting using magnetic powder and black ink. The girls also looked at footwear castings and footprints, in addition to looking at hair and fibres. The last part of this session covered the collection and preservation of evidence at a crime scene and the importance of evidence retrieval in a court of law. During the afternoon all the girls eagerly donned a white SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer) suit, gloves, mask and overshoes and proceeded to apply their newly acquired skill-set to their group crime scenes before investigating and reporting their findings with the help of suspect profiles.

Throughout the day there was a wonderful buzz of excitement as the girls learnt new skills and tried to solve the mystery, gaining confidence in their own thoughts and how to communicate ideas to different groups. By the end of the day, each girl had a very good overall knowledge of forensic science and its applications used at a crime scene.

The response from the girls to the day was fantastic and there was universal agreement that it had been one of the best year group team–building activity days that they had experienced. Year 8 comments about their day included the following:

•  “Acting out the part of a forensic scientist and working with my colleagues as a team to solve the crime – that was the best part“
• “Please can we do this again?  The leader Jackie made the whole day so interesting. Dressing up and imagining that we were really at a crime scene looking at the forensic evidence was brilliant”
• “It was great fun. I particularly liked taking my own fingerprints and then turning them into a key ring as a memento!”

Bedford Modern School, Bedford, Bedfordshire

All Year 8 students took part in a Forensic Science themed Academic Enrichment Day on 19 March. This event took place within National Science Week and was run by Pulse Education, a company that aims to introduce students to the principles of Forensic Science.

The students learned a variety of Forensic Science techniques, such as fingerprinting, footwear analysis, chromatography and collection of hair and fibres. The students were then able to apply these new skills in the afternoon when they were given the task of becoming Scene of Crime Officers attending a crime scene. Each student took on a specific role in order to work out the identity of the ‘murderer’ from among a list of possible suspects. 

One of the Y8 students, Thomas van der Sande, said, ‘My favourite bit of the Academic Enrichment day was at the end when the 15 different groups suited up in the SOCO suits and got to work on their crime scene. I liked this because there were different answers so each group could get something different. Also, I liked how we used all the equipment we learned how to use in the morning. The crime scene was very hard to crack and my group got very close to the real suspect. Overall I really enjoyed the practical side of the investigation’.

Pulse Education delivered an enjoyable, educational and exciting day and I would recommend this company to any secondary school looking to deliver a science-themed enrichment event for their students. 

Abercorn Preparatory School, Wyndham Place, London W1

Thank you so much for the excellent and interactive forensics workshop that you and your team presented to our Year 4 – 6 group. Your professionalism and method of delivery ensured that forensics was brought to life and our students were thoroughly engaged in all the activities. In particular, we were most impressed by the fact that the students were given the opportunity to put into practice all the forensics skills that they learned in the morning session by solving a crime scene during the afternoon. The students all had to don crime scene investigation wear which really got our students into character and thinking like detectives. It was really great to see the level of collaboration as the students in the mixed year groups worked together to solve the crime and in doing so used the key scientific skills of problem-solving and critical thinking. The workshop also afforded certain students the opportunity to develop their leadership skills in acting as the lead SOCOs (Scene of Crime Officers) helping to organise their teams, roles and the evidence. At the end of the workshop, each student was given their very own fingerprint lanyard to take home.  Our students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the day and we can’t wait to have Jacqui and her team back for another workshop!

The Dragons School, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Having gained entry to their senior schools by this stage in their final year, we hope to provide the Year 8 pupils with some ‘off syllabus’ Science teaching which encourages wider thinking by them and an insight into practical Science beyond the classroom. Jacqui Thompson’s forensics workshop appeared to be the perfect solution and certainly lived up to our hopes. The pupils spent the morning learning several forensics techniques and situations when they would be employed in a field situation. As a teacher, you hope that this sort of activity will be fun, but also that pupils will be fully focused on their learning and they were! Lots of spontaneous questions from the children were evidence of this. During the lunch break, Jacqui covered the school hall in mini crime scenes and pupils set about collating and deciphering evidence using their newly acquired skills, all in full white suits and masks. A fabulous day was had by all and Jacqui’s professionalism, knowledge, organisation and enthusiasm make this a session well worth booking by any school Science department.

Cheam School, Headley, Newbury, Berkshire

Our Year 7’s had a full day Forensic Science Workshop and this workshop engaged students with the objective of giving them a brief understanding of Forensic Science and the applications, techniques and authentic processes used. In the afternoon pupils had to wear “SOCO” suits and attended a mock crime scene scenario collecting evidence using the techniques studied during the morning sessions. The pupils had a great opportunity to participate in practical “hands-on” activities using authentic equipment. This workshop broadened pupils’ enthusiasm for this subject, encouraging them to be active, curious learners and to be aware that science is all around us.

Dudley House Independent School, Dudley Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire

All the children thoroughly enjoyed the session – more able to comment on how it had extended their knowledge. Most children thought they had to listen a little too long. All children loved the fingerprinting session. The drama was a fantastic introduction to the session maybe in future this could be extended as so a practical way to get more of the class involved i.e. have trays of fake blood etc so volunteers could take swabs or have items of clothing for them to put on into bags -just ideas. A couple of the parents have come in and said it must have been wonderful as their child did nothing but talk about it that evening. Overall fabulous – thank you very much.

Cranford House, Moulsford, OXON

What a brilliant day Jacqui gave our girls! I contacted her company with regards to a ‘wow’ day of Science we were looking to arrange for 60 prospective pupils for Year 7 entry. From start to finish, the company were organised and helpful and produced a wonderful day of learning and fun for the girls. The resources used and the presentation of the day were superb and the girls left feeling inspired. As promised, two days after the event we were sent some excellent photos that illustrated the day beautifully. This was a great day and I am sure that we will be arranging another! Thanks, Jacqui.

Shrewsbury House School, Surbiton, Surrey

Year 5 at Shrewsbury House School thoroughly enjoyed the Forensic Science Day delivered by Jacqui. The workshop provided the boys with very practical science-based experiences, both individually and as members of teams. The boys found the crime scene investigations in the afternoon particularly fascinating and thought-provoking. It was an excellent day to support the ‘Materials and their Properties’ topic being studied this term. The Science Department looks forward to repeating this workshop next academic year.