CHEMISTRY students from Priestley College have gained an insight into life at a leading Chemical company.

Elena Mechlenburgh, Isabelle Rimmer, Hannah Wright, Antony Woods and James Thwaite completed the summer school programme at Solvay Interox.

Former Grange Academy pupil James, who also studies A-Levels in History and Maths at Priestley, wanted to take part in the programme because of his passion for chemistry.

“I wanted to know what applications that chemistry has in the industrial world and what impact it has in the world and our personal lives,” he said.

During their time at Solvay, a company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life, the students were given an insight into how Hydrogen Peroxide is produced. They also got to see how scientists work within the setting of a professional laboratory. 

Victoria Cassidy, Compliance and Competence Officer at Solvay, said: “The students were a delight. Totally engaging, polite, enthusiastic and a real credit to Priestley College.”  

We spoke with former Grange Academy pupil, James Thwaite who took part in the summer school to hear about his experiences.

• Why did you want to take part in summer school? 

I wanted to take part in the Solvay Summer School as I have a passion for Chemistry and wanted to know what applications and impact it has in the industrial world and our personal lives. 

• What kinds of things did you do while at summer school and what was it like to be in the lab? 

We took part in a series of lectures that taught us many subjects, including the production, inspection and selling of their products. We also saw the equipment used in the inspection, maintenance and security of the site and learnt about the equipment they hope to use in the future. Other things we took part in included a tour of the Solvay Interox plant where we performed a titration in the labs. We also took part in an activity in which we were split into 2 groups and participated in a mock business debate. 

•What was the highlight of the experience and what is the thing you took from it that was most useful? 

The highlight of the summer school was the titration in the labs or the mock business debate. The most useful part was learning about how the products are used in our daily lives.