Pupils are taught the skills to carry out practical work in Chemistry safely and effectively. They are made aware of career opportunities in Chemistry and are specifically provided with the chemical knowledge and understanding required for continued study in Chemistry and related areas e.g. medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and pharmacy.


We give the Lower school project work as frequently as possible so that the pupils can see the link between Chemistry and its relevance in society. The projects are open-ended allowing pupils to work at their own ability level, presenting their results in a variety of formats and developing the appropriate communication skills. Each year, the Chemistry department enters a team for the prestigious ‘Top of the Bench’ competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the West Midlands Chemistry Quiz with teams achieving excellent results against very strong competition and regularly reaching competition finals.

In the Sixth Form, pupils, who enjoy a challenge, enter the Chemistry Olympiad run by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the C3L6 competition run by St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Pupils are given the opportunity to attend the meetings of the College’s science society (Lucretian Society) where talks are presented by outside speakers. When the calendar allows, a group of Sixth Form pupils with the help of a teacher and technicians, run an Inter-House laboratory competitions for the lower school pupils. These competitions are always fun as well as being informative, as are the regular meetings of “The Science Club”, where enthusiastic scientists from all year groups can get hands-on with some of the more unusual experiments in Science.

All pupils in the Foundation Year (Year 9) follow a common Chemistry course, at the end of which pupils can choose between Science Double Award (Combined) and Chemistry as a separate subject.

Chemistry is a popular choice of subject for Sixth Form pupils taking either A-Levels or the International Baccalaureate.

Dr Stewart Vaughan - Head of Chemistry