On 27th March and 30th April, Sixth Form students from the Applied Science BTEC (part of the IBCP) and IBDP Physics courses respectively attended Imperial College Reach Out Lab to carry out essential practical work for their courses.

The Applied Science students from both year groups conducted experiments with circuits, investigating the operational principles of resistors and capacitors. The students worked effectively in groups to measure different combinations of components, evidencing the physical laws of how these work. The day was run efficiently by the Lab Leaders and Ambassadors, allowing students to collect results as well as analyse and begin to write up their observations for their coursework. From my personal point of view, this was one of the most effective Reach Out Lab days I have experienced as a teacher and I’m certain we will continue to run this in future years!

In April, the IBDP Physics class carried out practical work to investigate the relationships between different properties of a gas: volume, temperature, and pressure. In their groups, they worked well to troubleshoot a few “technical difficulties” and obtained results, of which they then evaluated the accuracy. The Lab Leaders also challenged the students to devise a method to measure the speed of sound - using limited equipment and only the space in the lab! This required students to discuss the variety of sources of error that would occur, and try their best to overcome them. Finally, the Leaders impressively demonstrated the “pressure waves” of sound using a Rubens tube - using the height of a flame to dramatically visualise the pressure of the air inside!

We also had a brief tour of the “Neon Lab” in the physics department, giving students the opportunity to see the campus and ask questions of current researchers at the university. Several students from the class are aspiring to study at Imperial in the future!

Ms Scott, Curriculum Designer for Science

With our thanks to the Dangoor family for sponsoring Westminster Academy's places at the Reach Out Lab!