CURRICULUM// CHEMISTRY / BIOLOGY
RSC ANALYST FINALS
Wednesday 20th March dawned just as any other day at
Pocklington School but who could know what a fantastic finish
was to follow.
Today was the day that three intrepid Lower Sixth Shemistry
students were to compete in the North East regional heat of the
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Analyst Competition. To
get to this stage the students had already needed to best their
Pocklington peers in a qualifying round designed by the great
minds of the chemistry department. These students had been
chosen based on a combination of their chemistry knowledge,
practical prowess and ability to work together as a team. The
teachers of the chemistry department were confident they had
selected well, however this was the first year that Pocklington
had taken students to compete in this competition so all
remained only cautiously optimistic.
There were eight other teams competing in this rounds from
across the north east but the Pocklington students stood out,
not just because of their distinctive blue lab coats but because
of their calm professionalism when working together. They
were tireless in their attempts and completed the last question
just as the time was up.
It was a nail biting nine days wait for the results to come in but
finally Pocklington School were announced the winners with
the second place runners up Hymers and third place going
to Wyke College. The Pocklington team will now go on to
compete in the final round in June, which is being hosted at
the University of Manchester.
Thank you to the RSC and the University of Hull for
sponsoring and hosting the competition and a huge well done
to our Pocklington team!
After negotiating the Hull afternoon traffic, Dr Andrew’s
driving and the lack of air conditioning all arrived safely at the
Chemistry Department at the University of Hull. Bolstered by
Appetizer and a few encouraging words the students donned
lab coat and safety specs and headed into the laboratory.
The RSC Analyst Competition is run annually and is an
opportunity for lower 6th chemistry students that plan to
continue onto the A level chemistry course to gain experience
working in a university undergraduate laboratory. The
challenge is for the students to complete a series of experiments
in a set time that combine the knowledge, and techniques they
have so far learnt with new techniques only available in a
university setting.
BIOLOGY FIELD
STUDY AREA
The biology department have been
very pleased to be allowed a new field
study area this year. We have made full
use of it, with pupils across all years,
comparing its biodiversity with the
school playing fields and the Spinny,
our long established conservation area.
The pupils have been able to identify
over 43 plant species, excluding grasses
and trees, with the expert help of Mr
Andrews. Some interesting varieties
have included hemlock, opium poppies,
common fiddle neck, comfrey and black
hore hound. We look forward to fungi
forages and invertebrate studies in the
autumn.
YORK UNIVERSITY
GENETICS DAY
We took U6 biologists to York
University biology department for the
first time this year. They spent the day in
the university laboratories discovering,
and carrying out, various manipulations
of DNA and analysing their own
DNA fingerprinting experiments.
They were also very lucky to have an
opportunity to tour the microscope
department and use the latest laser
and electron microscopes. After an
unenthusiastic start in the morning,
Harriet Green was heard to say that
‘it had been really cool and that she
actually understanding it all!’
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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