This week Form 6 dissected a heart to really understand and see for themselves the structure and inner workings of the mammalian heart.

After making two insertions, the pupils were able to compare the thickness of the left and right ventricle. They noted that the wall of the left ventricle is much thicker as it has to pump blood all the way around the body, while the right ventricle only has to pump blood to the lungs which sit anatomically, next door.

Form 6 also noticed how tiny the atria are, just a small leathery pouch sitting on top of the muscular ventricles. The children were able to identify the remnant of the main blood vessels going to and from the heart, by the thickness of the walls of those vessels.

We were also able to spot those 'heart strings' they love to pull on, and realised that they are actually tendons to stop the valves inverting under the pressure of blood flow.

Finally, we perfected the art of thorough hand washing before we set off for lunch.