Teaching new dogs, old tricks.

In a society where we are ever conscious of the need to be green, and to make the most of our resources to the full, this subject is at the forefront of this trend (dare I call it that?).

Every year when the new students walk through the door into the laboratory, we are presented with the raw material with which we must achieve the best final product possible. The equation is complex for this particular reaction, and the environmental conditions vary from year to year, but inevitably, by means of sound theory or dubious alchemy, what results from this particular process is valuable experience and personal success for every individual. And, fortunately for the teachers, the raw material at Runnymede is invariably of high quality.

The graduate chemistry class of 2008 were a mixed bunch of elements, but they combined to give a pleasant substance, mostly solid, occasionally sublime. It was a matriarchal class – us lads couldn’t get a word in sideways – and with their characteristic self belief, they will go on to great things.

The great pretenders this year were to be found in the lower sixth. Undoubtedly, they were the best set of chemists that I have had the pleasure of trying to steer. They are exothermic, effervescent and together they provide the fuel of the (near) future. They are often very efficient in their work, and they use their resources carefully, but their atom economy is excellent, and there is very little waste material in the process.

Each year there is a certain amount of recycling that goes on. We return to the first chapter of the textbook, I blow the dust off my fading notes and the same old stories and jokes are retold to fresh ears. Students often ask me if it’s boring to teach the same thing year in, year out, but the answer is categorically, “no!”. There is an important difference each year, and that is the group of budding chemists sitting expectantly in the lab in September. The fun lies in teaching new dogs, old tricks.

There are some important changes next year in the A-Level syllabus. The emphasis is shifting towards the significant role of modern chemistry in the use and abuse of our planet’s raw materials, and how to produce the chemicals that we need without damaging the environment. Much of the old material is still there, but lots of the more mechanical and outdated reactions and processes have been replaced by a more relevant and dynamic curriculum. In this way, students will follow more closely the new directions of the subject, and they will be better prepared to fulfil the needs of a chemically hungry society.