CHEMISTRY


Dr Peter Wothers, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, helped to design and launch the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. The competition has proved to be a huge success with science students across the UK and around the world. He explains more


A


S THE countdown to the Cambridge Science Festival in March begins, the spotlight shines on new and exciting ways to engage budding scientists. These are interesting times for those working or aspiring to


work in this field – more people are training to teach specialist science subjects (a 35 per cent increase in chemistry according to figures from the Training and Development Agency for Schools). There has also been a significant swing back to the


more traditional sciences among school students who are realising that core science subjects (e.g. maths, physics, chemistry and biology) provide a more solid foundation to go on to pursue many different careers. My mission over the past 10 years has been to


raise the profile and enjoyment of chemistry among students. I have been fortunate to do this through my work with undergraduate chemists at the University of Cambridge, with year 13 students through the International Chemistry Olympiad (a competition


for pre-university students from all over the world) and assisting University of Cambridge International Examinations with the development of the Cambridge Pre-U in chemistry. Chemistry teachers now have more resources


available to them than ever to help “liven up” their lessons, or put the topics into context. More than this, these resources are now available to the students themselves via the web. The availability of this level


Moral support: National Children’s Bureau The unhappy children


Half a million children say they are not happy


with their lives, according to research. Dr Hilary Emery comments


A COUPLE of weeks ago the Children’s Society published its annual review of children’s wellbeing. First, we need to celebrate that the majority of children, according to the report, feel happy with their lives. However, we need to take very seriously the finding that 11 per cent – equivalent to half a million children – do not. An article in The Guardian after the report was


published suggested that educational policy-makers were rejecting the concept of wellbeing as a policy matter in relation to schools and education, although paradoxically there is a government-wide interest in improving the “happiness” of the population. It is evident that most schools understand the


value of attending to the wellbeing of their children. They see it both as a moral imperative and as educational common sense. Children need to be “ready to learn” when


they come into classroom and not distracted by hunger, feeling ill, anxious or fearful – so that their experience of school is positive, enjoyable and engaging, with teachers able to focus on teaching and learning. For the National Children’s Bureau, as a partner


organisation in Richard Layard’s “Action for Happiness” movement, we believe it is essential that schools are involved in the debate about happiness and its contribution to education, and that children are involved in the discussion. If we put aside the contested concept of


“happiness” for a moment and consider how children experience school and the contribution that schooling makes, either positively or negatively, to their wellbeing, what does some of the Children’s Society data tell us? The report reminds us of the centrality of schooling


in children’s lives and that they view their experiences in school as directly connected to their wellbeing in a range of ways: how well the school environment meets their needs, the content of school work and learning at school, and relationships with peers and teachers – specifically being treated fairly by a teacher which, the report’s authors say, is most strongly related to general school wellbeing. This last point chimes with one of the findings


of a review by the University of Cambridge for the Nuffield Changing Adolescence programme which looked in detail at the evidence on the place of school in young people’s lives, specifically on impacts in terms of mental and emotional health. Published late last year as The Supportive School,


researchers concluded that the value of the teacher- pupil relationship in supporting emotional wellbeing as well as academic success is both undervalued and under-researched. They suggest that perceived support can be


as important as actual support, that it is often the most vulnerable or marginalised young people who benefit most from high levels of teacher support and that “attachment to school” (some studies indicate) was strongly related to teacher-pupil relationships. Their concluding point is that teacher influence has the potential to be powerful for every student. We do not consider this relational aspect of


schooling enough and I think that the ideas of school “attachment” or “connectedness”, particularly as they relate to the most disaffected or disengaged pupils, are ones that many teachers would recognise. I am not suggesting that teachers need to do


more. We all know that teaching is demanding, and that the pressures teachers in many schools are under are considerable. But while “happiness” and “wellbeing” may be


not be at the forefront of education policy right now, these issues are a day-to-day reality for teachers, families and for children in schools and communities. The children who contributed to the Children’s Society report are telling us that their relationships with the teachers in school matter considerably to their wellbeing and “happiness”. I think teachers know this, too. What we do about it is what counts.


• Dr Hilary Emery is chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, a national charity which works in partnership with a range of educational charities to improve the lives of children. Visit www.antibullyingalliance.org.uk


and volume of knowledge is something no previous generation has experienced. Competitions such as the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, which require the use of online resources, illustrate ways in which we can encourage students to find out more about science for themselves. Last year was the International Year of Chemistry


and we decided to set up the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge because we wanted to give students and teachers a new and fun way of approaching chemistry. We also wanted this competition (particularly the


written test for year 12 students) to get students to approach science problem-solving in a way that would prepare them for undergraduate study. At school students are taught the facts but here


they have to be creative, apply knowledge of other subjects and think in an altogether different way– these are exactly the kind of skills needed for university. Finally the Chemistry Challenge provides a great opportunity to identify our brilliant scientists of the future. The Challenge is a monthly online competition


which is open to anyone, any age from anywhere in the world. It is designed to push boundaries, stretch students’ knowledge and encourage them to use the internet to find scientific data. At the end of the online competition in June, a written exam is set for year 12 students and held in schools across the UK. The written competition acts as a great prelude to the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemistry Olympiad for year 13 students. In terms of the online competition, five “Google-


proof” questions are issued at the beginning of each month (see examples below). Each question has an increasing level of difficulty and participants have to solve each one in order to progress to the next one.


Chemistry questions: Dr Peter Wothers


Anyone correctly solving all five questions can appear on the Honours Board for that month. The questions are designed to be tackled using


the internet but are also written so participants cannot just enter the question into a search engine to get the answer. Instead they have to use search engines to get the information they need to calculate the answer themselves. Below are two of our favourite questions. It has only recently become possible to run a


competition of this kind because of the expansion of the online resources available for chemists. The use of the internet has been one of the greatest


advances in education in recent years due to the easy access to information and the increased speed of communication. The competition has really struck a chord with


young chemists. In the UK alone 3,000 students across 250 schools took on the Challenge in its first year. I think the questions we set have engaged students and teachers and got them talking about the problems both inside and outside the classroom. It has instilled a real sense of enjoyment among students. While there is, of course, the competitive element to


the Challenge, it has also brought together a community of like-minded passionate people who enjoy chemistry and problem-solving. There is a real sense of camaraderie among these young chemists.


SecEd


• Dr Peter Wothers is a chemist at the University of Cambridge and director of studies at St Catharine’s College. Together with a team of experienced teachers and university chemists, he designed the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and delivered it with the support of University of Cambridge International Examinations, OCR, the Department of Chemistry, and St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.


The Chemistry Challenge All previous questions are available on the Chemistry Challenge website, together with hints and answers. Here are two recent questions from the Challenge. The answers to both questions are quite surprising.


Question 1: See image (above right): Students needed to find the size of a molecule of buckminsterfullerene, the average distance to the moon and then calculate the mass needed.


Question 2: See image (below right): Students needed to find the enthalpy of combustion of sucrose, work out how many moles of sugar are in the bag and then calculate how much water could be heated if all the sugar was burnt.


Further information The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge will continue into 2012 due to popular demand from students and teachers. To raise awareness of the competition an interactive


poster, which shows the flame tests that students need to know for the chemistry A level curriculum, have been sent every school in the UK. With the aid of a SmartPhone or iPad the poster comes alive. The first online challenge for 2012 went live on January 1. Visit www.c3l6.org


Cambridge Chemistry Challenge


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SecEd • February 2 2012


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