On 16 June, 4ème students from the Anglophone Section had the exciting opportunity to visit the brand-new headquarters of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Gerland. This visit was a follow-up to a morning of presentations made to collège students on 11 June, introducing them to the groundbreaking Biobank project. Organised by Heather Coombs—Learning & Capacity-Building Project Assistant at IARC and parent of an Anglophone Section student—the visit offered an inside look at how scientific research is helping to advance global understanding of cancer.

The students took part in a lively Q&A session, engaging thoughtfully with the ethical and practical questions raised by the Biobank concept. They also enjoyed guided tours of the research labs and the Biobank itself. We were honoured to be the very first school group to visit the new site, and the IARC team were genuinely impressed by the curiosity and quality of the students’ questions. The visit concluded with another Q&A session, where students heard directly from scientists about careers in biological sciences, research, and biobanking. It was an excellent and inspiring trip—huge thanks to Ms Coombs and her colleagues at IARC, and to the two parent volunteers who kindly accompanied the visit.