Tumours that develop around the brain and the spinal cord in their lining (the meninges) or the skull can be difficult to remove because they are located near to critical areas of the body – the blood supply to the brain and the nervous supply to all our senses. Currently treatments for these tumours are limited to surgery or radiotherapy, which are sometimes curative, but often risky and associated with further treatment and problematic side effects. There is evidence that the covering of the brain (called the meninges) and the bone develop differently at the base of the skull than at the top of it, with important implications for understanding how tumours that develop in this area grow. This project is collecting tissue samples from patients having treatments for brain tumours and analysing embryos donated to research following terminations. Understanding similarities between how the skull and meninges develops and how tumours develop in the same tissues could help us identify what can be used to treat them.