SIAS rural tour

Selina Kermode, education coordinator for the Midlands, based at the University of Warwick, is spending the week bringing Spectroscopy in a Suitcase (SIAS) to rural schools in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Over the course of the five day tour this week, she will have visited six schools, delivering 13 workshops to 230 students. "We’re pretty certain this is the most SIAS that has been done in a week to date", she says.

Selina is being assisted by Georgia Thornton and Alice Partridge, third year undergraduates at the University of Warwick who are volunteering their time. "They are leading some of the sessions themselves and they’re getting on very well indeed", says Selina. "The students relate to them well."

“It’s been nice to see a variety of schools – at one we’re only visiting three students, but at Hereford Sixth Form College we’re doing six workshops. It’s great to reach such a large number of potential future chemists.

"The workshops have been really well received so far and I think it helps the A-level students especially. It’s something they study in their textbooks but it can be bit abstract. With this equipment they can get hands on and see what’s happening. It’s very modern equipment, so the teachers get quite excited about the new technology as well!"