Science Update

Chemistry In Action Lectures

At Hatch End High School we want to develop ambitious students. The Science department are pleased to report that on 11th November, our A-level Chemistry student had the opportunity to be inspired by leading chemists in academia and industry. These sessions were designed to promote and raise awareness of the various Science careers present in the Chemical sector. Furthermore, student were provided with guidance on how to approach and tackle A-level exam questions successfully. Some our students had the privilege of speaking to the lecturers too.

Our student were able to learn from the following speakers:

1. Andrea Sella - Chemist and Broadcaster - University College London:

Lecture: Strange Ice

Andrea discussed and highlighted the unusual properties of ice and how these properties are important to us.

2. Hilary Hamnett – Associate Professor in Forensic Science

Lecture: Poisonous Tales: A Forensic Examination of Poisons in Fiction

In this session, Dr Hilary Hamnett discussed the uses of dangerous poisons in fiction and drew our attention to the inaccuracies of fiction.

3. Alex Lathbridge – Biochemist, Presenter, and Science Journalist

Lecture: Tree-ting malaria

Dr Alex Lathbridge gave an interesting lecture on the development of medicines, with a particular focus on quinine and discovery of the sources of the medicines that we use today.

4. Esther Osarfo-Mensah – University College London

Lecture: How can we use chemistry to design biosensors?

Esther shared exciting research on how tiny particles can be manipulated to sense diseases within our bodies.

5. Dr Jamie Gallagher - University of Glasgow

Lecture: Plastic Fantastic

Dr Jamie Gallagher helped us to understand why plastics are both amazing and detrimental to the environment. He shared with us the measures that could be taken to tackle the issues of plastics.