A Level Chemistry Live

On 20th November 2019, 10 Year 12 A-level Chemistry students had the honour of attending the annual and much anticipated “A-level Chemistry Live” event at The University of Birmingham. We listened to professional lectures delivered by world-renowned Chemists. These included Dr. Suze Kundu, the brilliant Professor Peter Atkins (a fellow of Lincoln College, University of Oxford and the author of almost 60 amazing reads), Professor Lucy Carpenter, Dr. Peter Wothers (a teaching fellow in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and a fellow and Director of Studies in Chemistry at St Catherine’s College and the organiser of the annual ‘Cambridge Chemistry Challenge Competition’) and, finally, the thrilling Professor Andrea Sella (an inorganic chemist at University College London who specialises in the synthesis of new materials and compounds). The exciting scientific fields these lectures introduced us to included “Adventures at Nano Scale”, “Energy and Entropy”, “An around the world tour of atmospheric chemistry” and “The Periodic Table”.

We are extremely grateful for the opportunities given to us by the Science Department of King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys. Manraj Bansel, an A-level student, writes ‘It was a useful experience as it has opened my eyes to the almost infinite opportunities A-level Chemistry can offer’.

We wish to thank Ms. Bilkhu, our chemistry teacher, who organised this amazing trip and look forward to participating in the annual ‘Cambridge Chemistry Challenge Competition’ for which she has been organising entry for our brightest Year 12 Chemists since 2015.

Dauwood Shaker, Year 12