Today the spotlight is on the chemistry department, with an exciting visit from the University of Reading and their infra-red spectrometer. Students with an A level in chemistry have access to many different career and higher education paths. The demand for people with qualifications in chemistry is high and they often go on to work on industrial or academic research or in the chemical industry, as well as taking the skills learnt into careers where numeracy and problem solving is valued.

Last week three of our first year chemistry classes were fortunate enough to use an infra-red spectrometer in an interactive workshop ‘spectroscopy in a suitcase’.  Katie Nutall, Education Coordinator with the Royal Society of Chemistry works with the University Outreach team and visited the College to give students this opportunity to use the specialist equipment. As part of the A level course, interpreting the output of these instruments to determine the structures of molecules is essential, but at a cost of £15,000 for a spectrometer it is unusual to see and use one for themselves.  Keith Guy, Subject Tutor for chemistry said, “The groups greatly enjoyed these sessions and learned so much from them. It was a fantastic way to introduce the topic.” 

To find out more about our chemistry course and our other science courses take a look at our website here.