Last Wednesday, the Sixth Form Chemists set off for an exciting Chemistry In Action Day at Warwick University.

The day proved to be incredibly valuable. The first talk entitled 'Nano-Invasion' was delivered by Jamie Gallagher. Jamie described some of the challenges of drug delivery to cure diseases, such as sleeping sickness. This was followed by Mark Lorch demonstrating how proteins can act as nature's robots and self assemble, but also what happens when proteins go rogue. Next up, pupils watched a practical lecture demonstrating the magic of oxygen, where the experiments of Boyle, Newton and Priestley were recreated in some unusual ways! The final short talk of the morning session gave pupils simple tips and advice on how to achieve success in their A Level Chemistry examinations. In the afternoon, Kate Hendry's talk introduced the elements from across the periodic table that are needed so that oceanic life can thrive. The final talk of the day, given by Peter Wothers, began by looking at the ingredients in shampoo and showing the links between chemical nomenclature and ancient gods. All in all an excellent day! Photos from the trip can be seen on the Science Department's Twitter page here.

Sadie Osborne - Head of Chemistry