Our Sixth Form chemists enjoyed a jam-packed day at the Bristol of University.

To start with, they worked with post-graduate students on an experiment designed to extract caffeine from tea. This had several different stages to it, and involved and using state-of-art equipment.  

They also had a tour of the chemistry department and saw the glass works (where handmade glassware can be ordered by post-graduates and academics to meet the needs of their experiments), the post-graduate research labs, lecture theatres, the NMR spectroscopy machines and the mass spectroscopy room.

The group then attended a lecture from a post-graduate student who spoke about the role enzymes can play in creating new antibiotics from natural materials.

A university academic then gave the team a demonstration lecture, which involved using liquid nitrogen, dry ice, hydrogen balloons, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen peroxide, to explain the properties of the gases in the atmosphere.

Overall, this was an enriching and educational day which gave our students a helpful insight into studying science at university and the different routes that a science degree can take you down.