Churston Chemists are ‘Top of the Bench’

Huge congratulations to our students for winning the South-West heat of a national Chemistry competition – the RSC ‘Top of the Bench’ devised by the University of Plymouth.  This demanding challenge required our team to analyse the results of online experiments on saponification (soap-making) to decide which product to recommend as the best candidate for mass production.  In addition to understanding some very tricky Chemistry, they had to balance a range of other factors such as cost, pollution and sustainability.  The judges praised our students for the depth of their discussion in choosing their preferred soap (made from coconut oil) and awarded our students an incredible 97% for their final report.

Alex (Y9), Abigail (Y9), Archie (Y10) and Freya (Y11) demonstrated incredible intelligence and first-class teamwork skills. We wish them the very best of luck when they represent the South-West of England at the national final.

Dr Chris Hall

Head of Chemistry