Colfe’s Opens Doors for Science Afternoon
Colfe’s was delighted to once again host its annual Science Afternoon, welcoming Year 10 pupils from schools across Greenwich and Lewisham to join Colfe’s pupils for an afternoon of scientific discovery.
Designed to stretch and inspire able scientists beyond the GCSE science curriculum, the event saw over 30 pupils from Addey and Stanhope, Conisborough College and Prendergast Vale schools join with 10 Colfe’s pupils in special practical sessions in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The sessions were planned to introduce new topics, and included fun but challenging practical experiments to put their new-found knowledge to the test.
In Biology, the groups looked at the effect of temperature on the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction, with a carefully monitored experiment to see how enzymes react with other chemicals and what gasses were produced. The Chemistry session involved examining the effect of concentration on the rate of reaction, with the groups putting their own experiments to the test against the world record. Meanwhile in Physics, the groups explored electromagnetism, generating magnetic fields and currents, and discovering how electrical energy is converted into soundwaves – the students then got to have a go themselves at making speakers.
The sessions were followed by a lecture from scientist and educational consultant Rema Hooks. In a talk titled Pepto Fun, Mrs Hooks explored what a research scientist does, gave a clear idea of what engineering is, and gave advice on how to secure an internship.
Feedback from the visiting students included:
“I’ve really enjoyed it, there have been lots of activities I haven’t done before”, Maya (Conisborough College)
“I’ve done Biology and Chemistry this afternoon. I’m a keen scientist and it’s been excellent to do so much we haven’t done before”, George (Addey and Stanhope)
Head of Science and Head of Biology, Dr Gregor Zimmermann said: “We were delighted to host this event again. The Science Afternoon is a unique opportunity for our own students to join with their peers in our partner schools in an afternoon of discovery, exploration and hands-on experimentation across the three core sciences. They all rose to the challenges magnificently, and we hope we have inspired them to see the opportunities available as they look forward to making their A-level choices.”
