Activities for Secondary Schools and Colleges
Salter’s Festival of Chemistry
Every spring, local secondary schools supply a team of four Year 7 or 8 pupils who take part in a day of challenges competing against each other. The day includes plenty of fun and practical chemistry with a Salter’s Challenge, a University Challenge and a performance of our Thunder and Lightning demonstration lecture.
Salter's Festivals of Chemistry take place across the UK and Ireland and are an initiative of The Salter’s Institute in partnership with The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Teachers: For more information and to register a place for your school at a festival, visit: https://www.saltersinstitute.co.uk/festivals/
Thunder and Lightning Demonstration Lecture
Prof. Pete Licence and Mr Jim Gamble of the School of Chemistry wow audiences with their performance of a spectacular demonstration filled with colour, flashes and loud bangs. A variety of experiments are carried out with the theme of ‘chemical energy’, scheduled throughout the year.
Spectroscopy Workshop
The aim of this workshop is to supplement the student’s understanding of spectroscopic techniques and interpreting spectra studied in AS and A2 level Chemistry. The students will engage in sessions about nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy. Using these analytical techniques, they will deduce the structure of the unknown compound.
Teachers: Workshops run on selected Wednesday afternoons in the Autumn term, and each workshop runs approximately 1:15pm – 4:30pm.
If you are interested in bringing your students to one of these workshops please contact Dianne Mann for more information and to book.
The workshops are very popular and places are allocated on a first-come first served basis; each workshop accommodates up to 50 students and we may therefore book multiple schools onto the same workshop date.
For the IR session the students will be working in the undergraduate teaching lab; it is therefore essential that ALL visitors, students and staff, wear appropriate attire i.e. no bare midriffs/legs/ankles, no open shoes.
A-level Masterclasses
As part of the Ambition Nottingham programme for post-16 year olds at the University of Nottingham, the School of Chemistry contribute practical, lab-based sessions that explore research topics and develop laboratory skills.
In addition to getting a taste of university teaching, students registered on the programme have the opportunity to take part in activities that support progression and application to a university of their choice.
Ambition Nottingham is a free two-year scheme for Year 12 students, and the entry criteria can be found on the University’s Schools and Colleges Liaison page for this programme.
Teachers:
For more information about the A-Level Masterclass and Summer Schools, and how to apply, please visit the University’s Schools and Colleges Liaison page.
Residential Summer Schools
As part of two week-long residential summer schools held at the University of Nottingham, the School of Chemistry contribute practical, lab-based sessions that explore research topics and develop laboratory skills. Students attending these summer schools have the opportunity to get a taste of university life and experience a varied programme that incorporates academic, social and personal development.
There are two different summer schools with separate entry criteria, and both are free of charge.
- Nottingham Potential Summer School – the School of Chemistry contribute to the sustainable chemistry subject stream. For more information about the Summer School and how to apply, please visit the University’s Schools and Colleges Liaison page for this event.
- Sutton Trust Summer School – the School of Chemistry contribute to the chemistry, physics and astronomy subject stream.
