Thursday 8th March 2018 saw the very first Real World Chemistry Conference take place in College.
Our Chemistry students have been working alongside staff and post-graduate students from the School of Applied Sciences at The University of Huddersfield since September 2017, researching how chemistry can address real world issues. The research culminated with presentation of the teams’ findings at the workshop.
The event was attended by an invited audience of parents and representatives from local schools, industry, universities and national STEM organisations, as well as the Mayor of Kirklees Cllr Christine Iredale and her consort Mr Iredale. Despite the heavy snowfall in the morning of the event, the turnout was fantastic.
The students treated the audience to presentations on various topics including; Catalysis, Solar Cells, Carbon Capture and Utilisation, Medicinal Chemistry and Antibiotic Resistance. They delivered with such confidence and knowledge about their chosen topics and really engaged with the audience. A pleasure to watch!
During the interval the audience had the opportunity to meet and talk with the students who had displayed posters, summarizing their research, around the room. There were some great in-depth discussions about their findings, and the feedback was excellent.
There were also talks from two guest speakers; Alice Berry from Syngenta, who described her experience working in the chemical industry, and Professor Jane Owen-Lynch from The University of Huddersfield who discussed exciting developments at the School of Applied Sciences, including new facilities for outreach to local schools and colleges.
Chemistry teacher and event organiser Stuart Strathdee said
‘It’s been fabulous working with such a talented group of students, watching their knowledge and confidence grow during the Real World Chemistry project. They all presented brilliantly. I’ve had so much positive feedback about their talks, posters and discussions with guests. They’ve impressed a lot of people and should be very proud of themselves.’
Thank you, on behalf of Greenhead College, to all those who attended the event, the students, the University of Huddersfield, Alice Berry, Professor Jane Owen-Lynch and Stuart Strathdee and the Chemistry department for making this project a huge success!
On 6th March 2018, our A Level Music students were lucky enough to take part in a workshop and masterclass with Martyn Shaw, Head of Woodwind from the prestigious Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. He was also accompanied by 4 current students at the school, who performed for our students. 
