Chemistry

Introduction to Chemistry

Chemistry is the study of the materials that the world is made up from and the way that new materials can be produced. Studying Chemistry helps us to understand how materials behave, whether they are in the laboratory, in the kitchen, in one’s clothes or in a builder’s yard. It helps us to understand how to make better materials, how to get the energy we need and how to protect the environment.

In all of our teaching we aim to ensure that the pupils reach their maximum potential whilst developing an enjoyment of the subject and a sense of curiosity and wonder. Emphasis is put on active involvement in learning whether in practical experiments, class discussion or individual research.

 

Curriculum

In the Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry syllabus which we follow, the Chemistry theory is applied to everyday life so that pupils can appreciate the relevance of what they are learning. The ways in which scientific ideas are developed, tested and communicated are also important themes of the course.

We have offered the A Level Salters’ Chemistry course for several years with great success. It builds on the approach at GCSE and teaches the important principles of the subject through interesting and varied applications. So organic reactions are taught through the development of medicines like aspirin and salbutamol and equilibrium is introduced during discussion of the greenhouse effect.

Chemistry is a popular subject throughout the school, and the excellent results at GCSE encourage many pupils to continue their study of the subject to AS and A2 Level. A large proportion of these students then choose to follow science-based degrees at university which include Chemistry, Biochemistry, Medicine or Engineering.

 

Co-curricular Activities

A team of Lower 4 pupils is chosen each year to take part in the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry and several Lower 5 pupils are chosen to attend residential Chemistry Camps held at universities across the country. At all these events the children have the opportunity to carry out advanced experimental work and to meet other youngsters who also enjoy the subject. Krishan Shah, Alistair Smith, Clara Hutter and Georgina Chapman took part in the 2009 Salters’ Festival of Chemistry.

In the AS year a spectroscopy trip is organised to a university department so that the students can see these highly specialised machines working whilst also getting a feel for life at university. Read the report by James Livett, and Chris Turner on the 2009 trip.

Extension lessons are also organised for sixth formers who are interested in taking their studies further, and they are encouraged to enter both the Lower 6 and the Upper 6 Chemistry Olympiad competitions, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

In the 2011 Olympiad, we achieved two golds (out of only 182 awarded). We also achieved three Silver medals and two Bronze medals. A fantastic achievement! (see Latest News below for more information).

This continues the Department's proud record in the Olympiad. In 2010 we achieved two Silver medals (Christopher Turner and Wesley Chan) and three Bronze medals (Christina Jerrum, James Livett and Patrick Kennedy). The paper was a real challenge chemically and mathematically and we are enormously proud of the students' achievements.

In 2009, only 197 gold awards were made, and with an impressive 56 out of 64 marks, not only did Charles McMillan win a gold award, we believe that he came second in the country, and he was selected to go forward to the second round. Kathleen Tsoi and Ivy Choi achieved silver certificates and James Godfey, Joshua Lau and Matthew Tang received bronzes. It has been great fun to teach such bright and enthusiastic students and they have our hearty congratulations for doing so well.

A chemistry club runs on Thursday evenings after school. Pupils in Upper 2 to Upper 3 carry out interesting and unusual experiments and build models of subjects ranging from atoms to volcanos.

 

Latest News

 

Upper 6 Chemistry Olympiad Competition

The Chemistry Department continues to encourage its students to enter this prestigious competition, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and this year the results were outstanding. Out of a total of over 2000 entries nationwide only 182 gold awards were made, and two of our students were included in this number. They were Tom Sneller and Jason Ho. Trevor Cheung, Matthew English and Martyn Holloway-Neville achieved silver certificates and Marcus Leung and Mark Whitehouse received bronzes. Mrs Sarah Mitchell, Head of Chemistry, said: "It has been great fun to teach such bright and enthusiastic students and they have our hearty congratulations for doing so well."

 

The Society of Chemical Industry Best Chemist Award 2010

On Wednesday 10th November, Martyn Holloway-Neville went to the University of Surrey in Guildford for the 2010 Best Chemist in Surrey competition.

Having already been awarded the Best Chemist in the School prize, this ceremony was to award these certificates, and to announce the Best Chemist in Surrey competition.

The competition required entrants to submit a piece of work they had done outside of their respective Chemistry or Science course and Martyn submitted an extended essay he had written on pH changes in titrations for the Baccalaureate. The winner was announced to be a student from Charterhouse.

After the prize-giving Martyn was given a tour of the university and met other Chemistry scholars hoping to study Chemistry at university.

Martyn said: “Although I didn’t win, I felt very honoured to have been chosen by the School to represent them and to be at the ceremony for this award.”

 

Best Chemistry Student in the Country

In October 2010, the School was delighted to be informed that Patrick Kennedy has won an Award in the Salters Advanced Chemistry Individual Investigations.

Patrick, who sat his A2 exams in the summer, gained the highest mark in the Salters Advanced Chemistry Individual Investigations and will therefore receive a 1st Prize Award of £150 plus a certificate.

Patrick is due to attend The Salters’ Institute Annual Awards Ceremony at Salters’ Hall on Thursday 4 November to collect his award.

Mrs Sarah Mitchell, Head of Chemistry, said: "Patrick was a student who showed genuine interest in the environment, and his project into Biofuels reflected his deep concern about climate change. It was a superb piece of work written at a level far beyond the A Level requirements."

 

The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Analytical Chemistry Competition

On Wednesday 21st April 2010, Martyn Holloway-Neville, James MacDonald and Tom Sneller represented the school at the University of Greenwich for the South East Regional Heat of the Analytical Chemistry Competition.

The three students took part in the two ‘tasks of the day’ – analysing an unknown compound using classic laboratory tests, and then a further analysis using colour absorption techniques.

The first task involved identifying an unknown powder, as well as five other powders, using standard tests – the flame test to identify metal ions, and various acid tests, and we successfully identified all the compounds – full marks so far. The second task, proved to be much more of a challenge and it tested our minds to the maximum. It involved making up an incredibly precisely-concentrated solution, and then using a very accurate instrument, the colorimeter, to test the concentration of coloured particles in the solution. The actual calculations then were complex and required much thought.

We received our marks and were placed mid-table of the 14 teams. Our second experiment was not precise enough, so we lost some accuracy marks. Otherwise we had achieved all that was expected of us, stretched our minds and learnt a lot.

It was a great day, and a chance for some of our keenest chemists to show their mettle, show what they could do and beat some other very good schools and colleges in the competition.

By Martyn Holloway-Neville

 

Best Chemists not just at CLFS

In October 2009 James Livett and Christopher Turner were jointly selected for the ‘Best Chemist’ award by the Society of Chemical Industry. This is a fantastic achievement by two students who are not only talented chemists but also really enthusiastic about the subject. The award ceremont took place at Surrey University and the boys each received £25 book tokens, as well as gift bags from the University. During the evning itself they were also given a demonstration of the university’s computerised 3D molecule suite and a tour of the University's Chemistry Department. Read James and Chris' account of the evening.

 

Academic Results

In 2011:

A Level: 33 pupils were entered. 15 attained an A* grade, ten attained a grade A, six attained grade B, one attined a grade C and one attained a grade D.

AS Level: 51 pupils were entered. 29 attained grade A, 17 attained grade B, three attained a grade C and one attained a grade D.

GCSE Level: 94 pupils were entered. 61 attained grade A*, 28 attained grade A, four attained a grade B, and one attained a grade C.

95% of GCSE candidates gained an A* or an A.

 

In 2010:

A Level: 26 pupils were entered. 12 attained a grade A*, ten attained a grade A, and four attained grade B.

AS Level: 38 pupils were entered. 28 attained grade A, seven attained grade B, one attained a grade C and two attained a grade D.

GCSE Level: 86 pupils were entered. 54 attained grade A*, 24 attained grade A, and eight attained a grade B.

91% of GCSE candidates gained an A* or an A.

 

Staff in the Department

Mrs Mitchell - Head of Department

 

My Graduation and Teacher Training at Nottingham University were followed by a short spell teaching at Nottingham High School, before I moved to Townsville, North Queensland, a city with one high rise building and one record shop that sold heat-buckled vinyls. Fearing that in such an outback and upside down environment chemistry could be different (would salt + hydrogen = acid + metal?) I returned to university to do four years of research on Australian soft corals. A wonderful experience.

On returning to the UK and a short spell of analytical work on chocolate (more appetising than coral) I joined CLFS in 1990 and become 'Queen of Green' in 1994. I took over the Chemistry Deptartment in 2002 and now run Gresham and Chemistry side by side.

 

Mrs Janet Johnson

I did a BSc at Birkbeck College whilst working as an electron microscopy technician in the Botany Department at Imperial College. I enjoyed research so much that I did a PhD on the parasitic flowering plant Striga (known as 'witchweed' because of the damage it does to the host - people thought their crop had been bewitched).

 

Mr Paul Longden

 

I read Chemistry at Oxford. Following a varied 15-year career in the manufacturing industry (mainly with the Courtaulds group) I became a science teacher in 1993, later specialising in chemistry. Interests outside teaching include singing, classical music and DIY.

 

Mrs Karen Standish

 

I graduated from UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) with a degree in Polymer Science with Chemistry. I then worked in the UK plastics industry, on making surfboards, developing coatings for dishwasher baskets, and making insulation for power cables and electrical accessories which are crosslinked using a free radical mechanism using peroxides and gamma radiation. I moved to New Zealand where I worked for Monsanto followed by DuPont. I then spent a year doing my teacher training and returned to live in the UK. I have worked as a chemistry teacher in two other schools before I started a family and am happy to be back teaching part-time now my children are at school.

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