Chemistry

I will try to avoid the clichés used to describe the academic year 2019-20, but it was clearly a year of two halves. Mr Chen joined us at the start of the Autumn Term and very quickly settled into the Department and established a reputation for inspiring the pupils; there was often an excited queue of First Year pupils waiting outside his lab waiting for their ‘Chenistry’ lesson! Dr Stratford left at the end of the academic year heading up to the Wirral to be close to her family and will be greatly missed by pupils and staff alike. Sadly, lockdown and the prior restriction of activities prevented us from doing some of our planned activities and events, with the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for the Lower Sixth and the Chemistry of Art sessions for the Fifth Year being the most notable casualties. Chemistry Olympiad This is aimed at the most able Upper Sixth students and is used to select the best four students in the country to form the UK schools’ team which competes in the International Chemistry Olympiad. Just over 9,000 of the best A Level chemists entered round one this year, with the top 754 (8.2%) awarded a Gold certificate, the next 2,200 a silver and the next 3,284 a Bronze. About a third of those that enter do not achieve a Bronze. Nine students from Churcher’s College entered the Chemistry Olympiad this year. Their results were:

Ollie Mutch Gold Award George Whittle Gold Award William Hipsey Gold Award Thomas Parmenter Silver Award Tim Orchard Silver Award Peter Hindson Silver Award Noel Shipley Silver Award Callum Francis Silver Award Katie Hutchinson Silver Award They are our best results in my 17 years here (and, I think, ever!). Sadly, due to the lockdown the Lower Sixth version that takes place in June was cancelled.

Cosmetics Club Some enthusiastic Second Year pupils helped by Charlotte Evans and Ben Dakin, made soaps, lip balms, body butter and more under the expert eyes of Dr Stratford and Mrs Dannatt. I am very pleased that Mr Chen will take over the running of the Cosmetics Club; his enthusiasm and Mrs Dannatt’s expertise should be a perfect combination.

GCSE Science Live! The Fourth Year enjoyed a variety of talks given by leading scientists on a range of topics. Highlights for the pupils were unsurprisingly Prof Robert Winston but also Prof Jim Al-Khalili, whose ability to explain complicated ideas in physics make

him a familiar face on television and voice on radio.

ChemSoc This was a new club and one that, ironically, was helped by the lockdown. It was aimed at the Sixth Form to provide them with a forum to investigate, present and discuss chemistry ideas beyond the scope of the A Level course. The problem has always been finding a time when the students are free to meet, in particular one that doesn’t clash with the other extra-curricular activities. Lockdown created a little more space for activities that could be done via Teams meetings and Wednesday lunchtime became its regular home. Students presented and discussed topics ranging from ‘The Chemistry of the Early Universe’, ‘The Chemistry of Oil Painting’, ‘The Chemistry of Cavities and Fillings’ to ‘The Chemistry of a Hangover’. There were far too many topics to mention them all but the enthusiasm of the students made it a real high point of the week.

Explosive Chemistry In November a group of First Year pupils investigated the chemistry behind fireworks, looking at how to get different coloured flames as well as how to make things burn really well! In the Spring Term the Second Year academy group learnt about gunpowder and other explosives. After the success of the sessions last year and the popularity of the fireworks session, the programme was expanded. For obvious reasons practical work and demonstrations in this area are more limited; while the pupils can make their own paints, making their own high explosives is something that is prevented by some serious safety and legal issues! The pupils were able to investigate aspects of explosives, such as the role of oxidising agents, the difference between substances burning and exploding, and the difference in power output when the same fuel burns or detonates.

Fifth Year Bridging Course After the cancellation of the exams, Departments created bridging courses to give the pupils a taste of what A Level would be like and to give them a bit of a head start on some of the ideas that would be covered. The whole Department worked hard to create lessons on a range of topics that we hoped would inspire the pupils as well as prepare them. At the end of the course it was very heartening to see the numbers of pupils opting to do Chemistry at A Level increase to record numbers.

Dr D Dunster