All medical and veterinary students at the University of Nottingham carry out a third-year dissertation module. This module allows students to spend time experiencing contemporary research methods by engaging in research activities. In 2010, academic staff from the Medical and Veterinary Schools initiated educational research projects that enabled undergraduate students to lead some AS-level (age 16-17 years) Biology teaching at a local sixth-form college. The undergraduate students designed and ran a workshop to provide the sixth-form students with a hands-on practical session that enabled them to conceptualise the heart in a number of different ways, with the aim of correcting some misconceptions about the cardiovascular system. In this article, the authors present their experience as an example of how undergraduate-led practical sessions can offer a valuable and inspirational learning environment. (Contains 2 figures.)