SCIENCE is not for the squeamish at a Teesside college where snakes are bringing learning to life.
Freebrough Community College sites at Skelton and Loftus, east Cleveland, have welcomed to the classroom two corn snakes, Autumn and Snowball, and Humbug the rat snake.
The school pets have become the stars of the lunchtime Snake Club and key teaching aids for the college's assistant learning area manager, Nicola Robson.
She said: "They help us teach difficult biological concepts in a visual way. I think they're really important, and the club members have a real sense of responsibility.
"Mind you, we do get staff cringing in the corner when the snakes are around."
The lessons are one of a number of examples throughout schools in Redcar and Cleveland which illustrate how teaching science can be fun.
It has led to the creation of a major teaching conference today, Science Matters, which is expected to attract 85 delegates from schools across the borough and others in the Tees Valley.
The keynote speech will be delivered by Baroness Susan Greenfield CBE, director of the Royal Institute of Great Britain.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article