Welcome to Chemistry's Schools page!

For any general information about our events for schools, please contact Vanessa Tarling, at outreach.che@uea.ac.uk or phone (01603) 593490. 

Upcoming Events

Spectroscopy Showcases
Spectroscopy Showcase events aim to give 6th formers up close and personal contact with the spectrometers that they are learning about in their post-16 syllabuses.  The half day event starts with a lecture from a member of faculty giving an overview of the principles that underpin spectroscopy. The students are then taken on a tour of our IR , Mass spec, UV-vis  and NMR spectrometers and given a demonstration of each machine by postgraduate chemists who use these methods in their own work.  The day includes a visit to a laboratory where spectroscopic methods are crucial to the success of the research and ends with an opportunity to discuss the chemistry with one of the researchers involved.

Dr. Myles Cheesman, Schools Outreach officer, said, “We have been overwhelmed by the response to these events this semester. We hope to welcome over 400 students to the school over the next few months. We are delighted by the interest shown in UEA and in Chemistry in particular amongst the current cohort of post 16 students”.

We are holding a number of spectroscopy showcases this spring.  If you are interested in signing up for the new term please let us know and we will contact you as soon as dates are confirmed.

The Salters’ Festival of Chemistry 2012
The  dates for the next festival are UEA on 15th and 16th May 2012. The festival is aimed at students in Years 7 and 8. You will be able to enter a team for the 2012 Salters' Festivals of Chemistry online at http://www.salters.co.uk/festivals/

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase
Formerly known as “Discover Spectroscopy” this scheme has become part of the RSC’s national project and been rebranded “Spectroscopy in a Suitcase”. The scheme has been very successful since its launch in September 2008, with great demand from schools all over the region of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, as well as interest from further afield in Sussex and Bedfordshire.

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase is a project that aims to introduce practical-based analysis activities for both GCSE and A-level students. The students are encouraged to participate in a hands-on way, getting access to techniques in school that usually would require a visit to a university chemistry department. An experienced team of six specially trained postgraduate students from UEA provide a unique experience which can be set up and taken down again in half a day.

The feedback received from the events is overwhelmingly positive, praising the demonstrators’ delivery and the interesting activities. We reached many schools in our region last year, and the project has been funded until July 2012
If you would like the Spectroscopy in a Suitcase team to come and host an event (fully funded and free to schools) at your school in the Spring or Summer please register your interest, with some preferred dates if possible, now at SIAS@uea.ac.uk and we will be in touch as soon as possible to schedule a mutually convenient date.

News

RSC Schools Analyst Competition
The School of Chemistry was delighted to host the Regional Heat of The Royal Society of Chemistry's Schools Analyst Competition in May. Eighteen teams from schools all over the Eastern Region participated in a day of analytical challenges held in the Teaching Laboratories in the department. The teams were judged on their precision, accuracy and laboratory technique. The winning team were from Wymondham High School, who went go through to the National Final in Reading in June.

Chemical magic for East Anglian pupils 

        

Youngsters from around East Anglia took part in a range of scientific challenges, as well as solving a murder and witnessing a ‘fun with food’ science show at the University of East Anglia in May
Around 160 pupils in Years 7 and 8 (aged 10-12 years) came from 40 schools for a two-day Salters’ Festival of Chemistry event on May 4 and 5.

They took part in a range of hands-on practical challenges, problem solving tasks and laboratory experiments. Each day concluded with a prize-giving ceremony for the winners and runners up of each challenge. Lynn Grove VA High School, Norfolk and Holbrook High School, Suffolk won the challenges on the first day of the festival with East Bergholt High School, Suffolk and Culford Preparatory School, Suffolk winning the challenges on the second day.  The event was one of 55 happening across universities in the UK and Ireland and took place in the School of Chemistry.

Chemistry lecturer Dr Myles Cheesman said: “The school children used logic and forensic chemistry to investigate a murder, as well as witnessing a ‘Fun with Food’ science show from Norwich’s Inspire Science Centre.This was a fun opportunity for them to sample the university environment and raise their interest in chemistry.”

Norfolk schools attending the event included Cliff Park High School in Gorleston, King Edward VII School in Kings Lynn, Wymondham High School, North Walsham High School, Norwich High School for Girls and Hellesdon High School in Norwich.

Meanwhile St Felix School in Southwold, Leiston Middle School, and the Hartismere High School in Eye, were among those travelling from Suffolk.

Schools from Essex included Manningtree High School, Colchester Royal Grammar School, and Chelmsford County High School for Girls.

The event was hosted by the Salters’ Institute which was founded in 1918 to assist young chemistry students returning from the war to complete their studies. Today the institute plays a major role in the support of chemistry teaching, the encouragement of young people to pursue careers in the UK chemical and allied industries, and the promotion of chemical education including the whole area of curriculum development.

The first series of festivals was held in 1991 and over the last eight years more than 22,000 students have experienced the fun of practical chemistry through the events.

Norwich Science Olympiad 2011
011 Around 800 youngsters from Norfolk pitted their intellect against each other in a Science Olympiad at the University of East Anglia.  The two-day event on June 28 and 29 saw teams of primary and secondary school children compete in a series of science-based challenges, involving quizzes, practical tasks and games, to win medals and trophies.

On Tuesday, 400 secondary school pupils from around Norfolk descended on the campus, with 400 primary children from Norwich attending on Wednesday.
As well as the challenges, the secondary pupils found out more about what really goes into the food they eat in ‘The Chemistry of Your Meal’.

Lorelly Wilson from the University of Manchester used live demonstrations to show how yogurt is made with no real fruit, the amount of sugar in fizzy drinks, and why you should eat your greens.
 Organiser Dr Stephen Ashworth from the School of Chemistry said: “The Olympiad is a great way to enthuse and excite school children with science. The event gets children thinking about science in a very practical sense, with each team working on different challenges according to their age group.”

In the weeks running up to the Olympiad school classes took part in an internet-based Top Class quiz, from which finalist teams will took part in a practical and quick-fire grand final each day with Wymondham High School taking first place in the Year 9 competition, and Town Close taking the god medals in the Year 6 Competition.
The annual event started in 1980 as the Norwich Chemical Olympiad and evolved into the Science Olympiad, running until 2001. It was re-launched in 2008 with funding from the Norwich Town Close Estate Charity, the Thomas Weston Foundation and Thomas Anguishs' Educational Foundation. Funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has enabled the Olympiad to be run from 2009 to 2011.

Discover Chemistry and Pharmacy July 2011
A two day residential event for year 12s was held in July which introduced students to studying the two subjects at University and gives an experience of what University life is like.  If you would like more information about similar events please contact us.

Bespoke Events
We are always interested to hear ideas for events that would be useful to you and have flexibility to offer bespoke events tailored to your requirements. Please get in touch if this is something you would like to know more about.

Interested but not sure about the dates? Although some events are number limited, we may be able to offer other dates if these prove popular. Please enquire about alternatives if this is the case.

Travel a problem? We may be able to bring some events to your school or region rather than you coming to UEA. Please contact us if this option is of interest.