PRIESTLEY College student Scott Kingsley can expect many new experiences during his gap year in Guyana.
Not only will he go from student to teacher as he imparts some wisdom on local children, he will also be cut off from the technological world in which he has grown up.
“It will be the first time I will have to write a letter,” said Scott.
“I’ve been told there’s no phone signal or internet where I will be going so a letter is the best way to get a message home.”
Scott is currently studying A-Level Chemistry, Physics and Maths at Priestley, which is where he first heard about the opportunity of working abroad during his ‘year out’.
First he needs to raise £6,200 to cover the costs of his travel, accommodation, food and insurance for the entire trip. It will ensure the community in which he will be working bears no cost for his time there.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to give something back to a community other than my own,” he said.
Scott’s passion is for science and after successfully completing his A-Levels at Priestley and his year in Guyana, he plans to study biochemistry at university.
For the former Sir Thomas Boteler pupil, his love of science is all about answers.
“I want to be able to answer my own questions one day rather than have everything answered for me,” he said.
Scott recently completed a prestigious Nuffield Placement with Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, part of Liverpool University.
His project during four weeks in the laboratory was studying the impact of age and exercise on the knee joints of mice.
It gave Scott the chance to discover how rigorous the scientific process has to be as he had to repeat the experiments dozens of times in order to draw any conclusions.
“There was nothing boring about the repetition because I know that is what you need to do to make sure everything is fair and reliable,” he said.
To support Scott go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/scottkingsleyguyana
