Children and young people make up a third of the UK population. Their health and wellbeing are top priorities for the UK government, and our scientific evidence shows that a healthy lifestyle at an early age is important for long-term health, captured by the phrase ‘Change the beginning and you change the whole story’. The trend of rising unhealthy behaviours and lifestyles for children and young people has been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The LifeLab programmes have been developed to help young people discover the knowledge and skills they need to regain control of their lives and to devise their own solutions and resilience to current and future challenges.  

LifeLab is a unique initiative created by the University of Southampton in collaboration with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and University Hospital Southampton.  At a purpose built ‘lab’ in University Hospital Southampton, young people take part in fun and engaging sessions, conduct experiments, meet scientists, and learn first-hand why and how to lead healthier lives. Our activities include fully resourced educational programmes provided for in-school delivery, teacher professional development, opportunities for scientists to train and take part in our programmes, research studies, work experience opportunities and our Experience Medicine with LifeLab programmes. 

LifeLabOnline is our free education platform where you will find a range of programmes and resources created to educate and empower children and young people for lifelong health. Designed to be used by teachers, students, parents and carers, and researchers, the site provides downloadable and interactive resources on topics such as COVID-19, diet and lifestyle. Written by teachers and subject experts our online content is aligned to the national curriculum and tailored across key stages. Content can be accessed by teachers and delivered in school as fully resourced lessons or used by students as self-guided programmes or as part of a home school curriculum.