Loreto College pupils attend Salters' Festival of Chemistry

Held at the University of Ulster’s Coleraine campus, each school was represented by a team of 11-13 year olds.

The Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK, and is organised by the University’s Department of Access and Educational partnerships, and is held in association with the Salters' Institute and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

During the morning the teams took part in a competitive, hands-on, practical activity - “The Mysterious Death of Captain Salter” in which pupils used their analytical chemistry skills to identify the guilty party from evidence gathered at the scene of the ‘crime’.

In the afternoon, they competed in the “University Challenge”, and took part in a fun lecture delivered by bioscientist Professor Chris Shaw, in a talk entitled ‘Poisonous Animals that Can Kill’ and were able to see and handle a range of reptiles and spiders.

The day ended with a prizegiving at which all participants received individual prizes and participation certificates and the winning teams were awarded prizes for their schools.