CURRICULUM & ACTIVITIES //
CHEMISTS TURN DETECTIVES IN SCHOOLS ’ ANALYST COMPETITION
Pocklington School Lower Sixth chemistry A level students took part in the national Royal Society of Chemistry annual Schools ’ Analyst Competition in May , which allows students to expand their chemistry knowledge and skills through practical analytical experiments based on relevant societal or industrial problems .
Pocklington entered four teams of students to compete against each other to be crowned the overall school winner . Each winning school team will be entered into a regional competition , where the best overall entry will also win a prize for their school .
The teams ’ challenge was to identify the contents of waste barrels found abandoned by a river in the fictional town of Allvale . They had to carry out some background research first , followed by a three-hour laboratory session at school , in which they carried out their analyses .
Lower Sixth chemistry student , Georgie Taylor , gave the following account of the experience :
“ We had to perform three practicals which used a range of analytical skills we ’ d learnt from GCSEs and over the past year . The first one we did was a chromatography test , to deduce the pigments within an unknown substance . The second one was testing for halide ions , in which we had to observe precipitates forming , effervescence and other reactions within the solutions to be able to identify the halide within the unknown substance . The final test was a flame test , where an unknown solvent was soaked on a wooden splint and we had to compare the colour with known substances to figure out the metal ion within it .
“ I thoroughly enjoyed competing in this competition ; it allowed me to apply my previous knowledge to the task as well as learning new skills . It was exciting , interesting and has provided us all with a valuable , one time opportunity to write about in UCAS / job applications and given us useful qualities we can transfer from this competition into the future . It was a fun set of practicals to complete and an informational way to spend our afternoon .”
Miss Parker , a teacher of chemistry at Pocklington School , said : “ A big well done to all the Lower Sixth chemists who competed with enthusiasm at this extremely busy time of the year ! I was delighted to see them seizing this great opportunity to be one of only 200 schools taking part in the competition and really using the skills , knowledge , and teamwork they have gained over the year , in a real-life practical setting . Hopefully , this has inspired them to continue researching the possibilities beyond the A level chemistry course ; fingers crossed for some excellent results !”
THE POCKLINGTONIAN 33