School students have great chemistry in Imperial competition
11 May 2012
On 3 May eight teams of schoolchildren came to Imperial to compete in the live final of the London Schools’ Chemistry Challenge, battling it out using posters, drama, music and presentations to a present their case for the greatest discovery in Chemistry in the last 100 years.
The initiative began last year, also marking the International Year of Chemistry, which celebrated the contributions chemistry has made to society.
The competition saw over 1,000 school students registered to take aprt, with academics from the Department of Chemistry selecting eight teams for the final.
With an open remit on how to make their case the GCSE and A Level students had to present in front of a panel of judges including Imperial’s Professor of Science and Society Lord Winston; David Philips, President of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Head of the College’s Department of Chemistry Professor Tom Welton.
The winning entry, highly commended by the judges, came from team “Notre Bam”, a group of students attending Notre Dame School in Surrey. They won for their presentation on polymers, which involved drama and music as well as chemical knowledge. The team received an iPad each, together with a tour of a leading research facility in the future.
Pictured right: Notre Bam with judges and organisers.
Team member Elizabeth said: “As a group we have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and our knowledge of chemistry has been enhanced by studying the subject outside of our syllabus. We have really benefitted from the experience and look forward to the day at a research centre…and our iPads!”
The event’s was arranged by the Department of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry, supported by Imperial’s Outreach Office. One of the organisers, Dr Oscar Ces, said:
“This was a fantastic evening where teams of students from across London showcased their talent and demonstrated the impact that Chemistry has had on society over the last 100 years. It’s been a wonderful way to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry”.
Organisers hope to run a similar event in the summer.
— John-Paul Jones, Communications and Development
Tags: Chemistry, Outreach
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