Academic Horizons Oxford Scholars Inspire
By ABIGAIL HIGGINS, Head of BIOLOGY
15 DECEMBER 2025
charterhouse news
On Wednesday 3 December, we were thrilled to welcome back two Old Carthusians, one of whom is also a member of Brooke Hall (Charterhouse teaching staff), for our annual Biology Christmas Lecture Series.
The evening began with Matthew Bagley (P16), who shared his fascinating journey from university to his current PhD research on bat viruses. His talk explored how the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) identifies viruses in bats that have the potential to cross species barriers. The key takeaway? Avoid handling bats not only because of the Lister viruses they carry, but also because they can harbour coronaviruses closely related to those affecting humans.
Following this, Mr Bagley, former Head of Biology at Charterhouse and now a tutor at Balliol College, Oxford, delivered a captivating deep dive into haemoglobin, explaining its function and the physiology behind Mallory’s historic ascent of Everest. His talent for making complex topics accessible to a diverse audience was truly remarkable.
The evening concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where pupils posed insightful questions, many of which continued to arrive via email the next day, showing a real engagement and passion for the topics that were spoken about. It was a successful and inspiring way to end the Quarter (term), leaving everyone with a renewed sense of curiosity and excitement for Biology. Thank you to Mr Bagley and Matthew for coming back, to all staff who attended and to all the pupils who made this event a huge success.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with both speakers offering fresh insights into virology and physiology. It’s inspiring to see fellow scientists pursuing the same path we are, in the natural sciences, just a little further along the road.
HARVEY, SeCOND YEAR SPECIALIST (Year 13)
I thought Mr Bagley, as a former teacher and current Oxford professor, delivered an insightful and exciting lecture on how the simple mechanisms – such as cooperative binding – which we learn about in A Levels, can be applied to fascinating events such as climbing Mount Everest. Mr Bagley’s son, Matthew, also told us in detail about the deadly viruses which bats may carry and his research into viruses, particularly coronavirus, allowing us to understand in more depth the gripping and perilous disease we experienced.
OLIVIA, SeCOND YEAR SPECIALIST (Year 13)
