Mrs Jenny Mulhearn, Science Teacher, wrote this account;

“The team of Lauren, Lana, Katie and Hannah spent the morning solving a murder! They used a variety of chemical techniques such as chromatography and analysed other information from the crime scene, including witness statements to correctly identify the murderer in Salterstown. In the afternoon they were performing a classic chemical experiment in which a colour change occurs. With no guidance whatsoever, they had to determine the correct volume of reactants so that the colour change occurred at exactly 60 seconds after they were mixed. They managed to get it to change on time after some experimentation and then had it timed by a demonstrator from the university, the recorded time for which they do not know! The girls demonstrated excellent scientific enquiry skills, critically analysing experimental data and working well collaboratively during both tasks and were a credit to Claires Court.

The day ended with an inspirational demonstration lecture, during which pupils were made to challenge some of their assumptions and to ask more questions. It was one of the best demonstration lectures that I have seen; everyone jumped as a bottle exploded thanks to dry ice, fingers were threatened with liquid nitrogen and the ice cream made was actually quite tasty!

The day was a fantastic opportunity for our girls who came away buzzing afterwards. They were challenged and inspired all whilst enjoying themselves. Many thanks to the Salters' Institute and the Royal Society of Chemistry.”

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