Expansion plans and new contacts on cards for Darwin Biological
An innovative biological specimens supplier is gearing up for an exciting year ahead with expansion plans and new contacts.
Darwin Biological, based in Shawbury near Shrewsbury, aims to use 2026 to expand its offering, potentially take on more staff and increase the help and support it offers schools across the UK.
The company, which provides specimens and specialist supplies to secondary schools across England, Wales and Scotland, has been praised for a booklet which aims to help science teachers keep the subject interesting with new experiments.
It also has a training session ensuring their staff know how to carry out and support these teachers and technicians.
Founder and managing director Meg Bilson said it was an exciting time for school biology.
"I have seen a lot of change in demand over the years and we are really looking to work with schools now to update and expand their annual experiments," she said.
"The booklet we produced included expert-led practicals and was sent to 4,500 schools at the end of 2025. The feedback we have had has been extremely positive, with many technicians at educational institutions describing it as helping to make their job 'interesting and easier'.
"Modern educational needs are very different to years gone by and it is a great opportunity to reinvigorate biology education, by making science fun and engaging.
"We now hope to expand our offering to schools and have a huge positive impact on the education sector while maintaining our commitment to ethical sourcing, with British suppliers who value animal welfare and whose ethics we are aligned with. This, in turn, offers the potential to take on more employees."
After producing the booklet, Darwin Biological invited representatives from industry health and safety body CLEAPSS, an organisation which provides support in science and technology for schools, to its base.
The staff conducted experiments that have been recommended to school science technicians, learning new techniques and gaining experience with the practicals in order to become better equipped to answer questions and provide advice to those they supply.
Darwin Biological was founded in 2019 in a spare room at the home of Ms Bilson and her husband Bil.
The company provides specialist live biological supplies for schools, universities and labs, including preserved specimens, bacteria, fruit flies, and algae, working closely with experts and ethical suppliers such as the UK Health Security Agency and Culture Collection in Scotland.
