GCSE Science Live - January 2025

On Friday 24 January, 94 Year 11 GCSE students visited the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London where they saw and heard from five world-renowned scientists who hopefully sent them away with a deeper sense of what science is/what it might be for, and from an experienced chief examiner who gave some practical advice to help them do well in their exams.

The speakers were:

Professor Robert Winston medical doctor and distinguished scientist, who gave an informative presentation on embryo development

Professor Andrea Sella synthetic chemist at UCL who gave a practical presentation of kinetics and rates of reaction

Professor Jim Al-Khalili – University of Surrey lecturer and presenter on BBC/Channel 4, who gave an informative talk on time travel

Dr Helen Czerski, UCL and BBC presenter, who talked about oxygen in the oceans

Professor Sophie Scott – neuroscientist at UCL & Deputy Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, talked about how neuroscience helps to explain many aspects of human behaviour

Examiner Stewart Chenery who provided top tips on examination success

Quotes from some of the students:

‘The scientists provided interesting presentations that gave me ideas for a career path.’

‘I had insight into STEM careers and eye-opening topics. It informed me of which subjects to study for A-levels and careers I might want to go into.’

‘I learnt useful exam tips to prepare me for revision. Some information I learned from the scientists could be useful as it links to GCSE.’

Thanks to Mr Findlay, Mr Patullo, Mr Pasupuleti, Mr Pogiri, Ms Filchakova, Mrs Collins, Mrs Eastham, Mrs Fung and Mrs Vango.