Chemistry

Image'Everything is made of atoms' Richard P. Feynman

'……one or two atoms can convert a fuel to a poison' P. W. Atkins

We start Chemistry with the study of atoms and the Periodic Table which groups atoms by their physical and chemical properties.  Many practical activities are used to illustrate chemical properties from:

  • separating the colours in felt tip pens and Smarties
  • exploding jelly babies
  • using natural indicators
  • flame tests, etc.


Chemistry is often called material Science because Chemistry is used to make new materials from metals and their alloys to new drugs to save lives.  Chemistry is a requirement to all potential Medical students because Chemistry is fundamental to the biochemical processes in our bodies.

GCSE

We follow the Separate Science AQA Course which will give every student a GCSE in Chemistry.  The course stresses the question 'How does Science Work?'  The emphasis is less on facts and more on the application of Chemistry in today’s world, such as extracting oil from plants as a bio fuel to replace fossil fuels.

AS and A Level

We follow the OCR Chemistry Course.  The modules have the descriptive titles:

  • AS Level
    • Atom, Bonds and Groups
    • Chains, Energy and Resources
    • Practical Skills
  • A Level
    • Rings, Polymers and Analysis
    • Equilibria, Energetics and Elements
    • Practical Skills

We have an enthusiastic set of students, many who hope to become doctors, vets and some who just love Chemistry.

ImageOther information

The A Level course involves many practical activities such as extracting essential oils from fruit.

We organise an AS Level trip to London University where eminent, humorous speakers entertain 1000 students in a very large lecture theatre with explosions and other interesting chemical phenomena.

Dr Glyn Meredith (Senior Chemist)