College News

QE Chemistry Students Take on Fish and Chip Project

A group of A Level Chemistry students from QE have had the unique and exciting opportunity to take part in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Schools’ Analyst Competition 2022. QE was one of only a handful of schools and colleges to be selected for the contest and all of the participants were eager to get involved. The challenge was based on a real-life scenario where each team of three students had to complete four practical experiments based on the role of analytical chemists who had been employed to help with the transformation of a family-owned fish and chip restaurant. The chemists were tasked with sourcing local suppliers to replace their current ingredients which came from further afield. They needed to analyse local flour, potatoes and vinegar as well as work out why the food that was being made tasted soapy. The four teams of students have now submitted their results and they will soon discover how well they have done compared to other teams from across the country.

Student, Bex Wem, who studies A Level Biology, Chemistry and Geography at QE, comments: ‘I feel that my chemistry skills have been tested and my knowledge broadened’. Oliver Buckley, a student of A Level Chemistry, Maths and Physics, adds: ‘This task really brought the chemistry theory from lessons to life and I’ve been able to further develop my practical skills. I also enjoyed working as part of a team’. Julia Magnall, teacher of Chemistry, concludes: ‘The students were really engaged and I was very pleased with how they were able to work both independently and as a team. They all showed that they have strong practical skills and an ability to solve complex problems which pushed them beyond their current chemistry knowledge’.