School of Chemistry

Bilingual Chemical Secrets event has student chemists in their element!

Image of A level Students at Chemical Secrets Can you identify the molecule that provides the scent in perfume or an orange or pinpoint the exact molecule that contains the medical properties in a medicine? It’s unlikely that you can. Two hundred A level students who attended “Chemical Secrets’ chemistry workshops at Bangor University now possess these skills!

Image of A level Students at Chemical Secrets ‘Chemical Secrets’ / ‘Cyfrinachau Cemegol’ is the first bilingual chemistry event for A level students in Wales and the first event of its type to be run in north Wales. Five day-long workshops were held to accommodate the 200 students taking part. A similar event run by Cardiff University in south Wales will ensure that 600 Welsh A level chemistry students have hands-on access to high tech equipment in university chemistry laboratories to enliven their chemistry study.

“This is a joint initiative between Bangor’s School of Chemistry, Cardiff University and Techniquest. Image of A level Students at Chemical Secrets The aim is to ensure that chemistry A level students can be enthused by all that chemistry has to offer and, by visiting the University Chemistry labs, can experience at first hand, what lies ahead in further study or a career in chemistry.” said Professor Maher Kalaji, head of the School of Chemistry at Bangor University.

“We are committed to assisting students studying chemistry in schools so that they remain interested in the subject. We feel it’s equally important that we support Welsh medium chemistry teaching,” he added.

The students used equipment far in advance of what is available to them in the school lab and gained hands-on experience directly relevant to their A level syllabus. They also gained an insight into the importance of chemistry in our daily lives.