Serious fun with shrimps: London pupils get Saturday scienceclasses

Mary Agyapong and Treasure Peart, both 11, try out breeding shrimps at a Saturday science class for state school children at a private school in Barnes, west London. The science class is part of Serious Fun on Saturdays, a scheme run by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham that gives primary school children extra tuition with the help of two local private schools - St Paul's School in Barnes and Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. "The Saturday school has been going amazingly well," said Michelle Burke, the project co-ordinator. "The pupil turnout has been brilliant and they have done some really incredible work, which has raised achievement levels." Children who take part in the scheme spend a total of 10 Saturdays being taught by teachers from the private schools.