Teachers are always warned against giving different types of pupils labels. But one school in Swindon can now tell exactly who its gifted and talented pupils are by what they’re wearing around their necks.

A group of eight pupils spent a day at the University of Bath last month and ended up extracting their own DNA from cheek cells before making them (what - DNA models?) into necklaces.

The Year 10 pupils from St Joseph’s Catholic College also used high magnification microscopes to look at neurons and used a brain model jigsaw to identify what parts of the brain do.

The event was run in conjunction with the university’s outreach team, which works with schools across the South West to widen participation in higher education.

“We looked at the complexity of the human brain and how it controls the body,” says Dr Momna Hejmadi, who led the activities.