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Last year, eight lucky pupils from 8CS had the opportunity to attend a Festival of Chemistry day at Liverpool John Moores University. The festival was an opportunity for the enthusiastic young scientists to spend a day in a university department, taking part in practical chemistry activities and competitions. They solved a murder mystery, identifying different types of salt in the morning and went on to win 3rd place in ‘The University Challenge’ in the afternoon, winning a molecular model prize for the science department! The pupils all said that they enjoyed the university experience, especially the chance to use science equipment they do not necessarily see in school. The festival is an annual event so keep your ears and eyes open and you could be one of lucky scientists to attend next year!

As a school, Hillside aims to help and support the community as often as possible, and our Eco-club is no exception! A group of Eco pupils went along to Oxford House and volunteered to clean up their gardens to make it a nicer place for the residents to sit outside and enjoy in the good weather. On our first visit we cleaned up the garden by getting rid of any rubbish and disposed of all the weeds. We are due to return for our second visit, when we will be planting flowers and seeds. We also plan to put plant pots around the garden in different seating areas, which will hopefully grow again each year and can be admired by the residents. The pupils showed a great attitude when helping out at Oxford House and showed a great interest in caring for their local community. The residents of Oxford House were delighted with the pupils and even provided them with some well-deserved juice and biscuits. Well Done! ?

Our year 11 physicists have been very impressed with the recent Prof. Brian Cox – Wonders of the Universe series on T.V. When they saw his Uncaged Monkeys tour was coming to Manchester they persuaded Mrs Daly, Mrs Wardale and Mr McLean to take them to see it. They were not quite sure what to expect and were a bit worried that they might not understand the physics as it was not a children’s show. Considering the majority of the audience was made up of university students and lecturers our pupils were astounding. Their physics knowledge was really impressive and they were able to follow most of the show without a problem; although, we were all a bit flummoxed when Brian Cox attempted to explain Einstein’s theory of relativity in 5 minutes! The show was very funny as well as informative and showed us just how cool physics and maths are. Did you know that when you breathe in you inhale millions and millions of oxygen atoms? Did you know that you can see more life through a car windscreen than there is in the rest of the known universe? We were left stunned and amazed by facts we learned that night and it was truly a fantastic evening.

Year 10 pupils Adam Latimer, Robyn Murray and Hannah Davies 10SD recently competed in and won an Extreme Physics competition funded by the Ogden trust. The pupils spent 3 days having their physics knowledge and skills tested, competing against pupils from schools across the north west. They completed challenges, attended lectures and even went indoor sky diving. They had an excellent time and did not want to leave. Congratulations Hillside Extreme Physics champions!