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Opening hearts and minds: how the sciences are flourishing at King's High

In line with the rest of the world, interest in science only continues to grow at King’s. The lunchtime  Moventis Scientiam club, which crosses the curricular boundary, combining  Biology and Chemistry, grows ever more popular. Dr Grist says: ‘We are excited about how this is going, and so pleased with the enthusiasm of the girls who attend. It is a highlight of our week.’ Recent topics include looking at the hydrophilic nature of lotus leaves, optical isomerism in thalidomide and ibuprofen,  making models, and virus research.   

A highlight has been the models of viruses Dr Grist procured from a company called Giant Microbes, that are 1,000,000 times the actual size. We must add our thanks to King’s High’s team of Science Technicians (amazing scientists all) who, when the labs are up and running, work wonders, right down to sourcing lotus leaves...  

Fifteen students completed the prestigious and famously challenging Chemistry Olympiad on TEAMS.  Dr Grist reports: ‘It was great to see Year 12 girls taking up the challenge, which is more focused on Year 13.  We even had a girl beaming in from China to do it - talk about a small world.’  

And we are grateful to the support of Professor Rachel O'Reilly, Head of Chemistry at Birmingham University, who gave a superb talk on ‘New Approaches to Plastics’ that encompassed the Environment, Business, Biology, Geography and Chemistry.  Dr Grist says: ‘Professor O’Reilly is effectively a sort of Chemist in Residence for the school, and a great role model to our students, as a leading female scientist.’