Page 12 - The Malvernian - July 2024

THE MALVERNIAN
UCAS Application Workshop and UK Universities’ Fair
This year’s UCAS Application Workshop and UK Universities’ Fair was held on Tuesday 18 June. All Lower Sixth pupils were given help with starting their UCAS applications, so that they can work on them over the summer holiday, and complete and send them off next term. They heard representatives from 10 popular UK universities talk enthusiastically about courses, student life, facilities and accommodation, and were given advice by an expert panel of admission tutors about how to write an engaging personal statement and make a strong application. The universities attending were: Bath, Birmingham, Cardiff, Durham, Exeter, Lancaster, Newcastle, Oxford Brookes, Reading and University College London.
Lower Sixth Collaborative Science Project
As a part of the IB requirements to achieve the Baccalaureate the Lower Sixth pupils are required to work on a Collaborative project. This involves pupils working as a team of Group 4 IB subject specialists (Biology, Chemistry, Design and Technology, Sports Exercise and Health Science and Physics) to research a topic and then present their ideas and findings. This year’s overall theme was ‘Food’ and we had a range of different directions that the pupils chose to take this theme. One team researched the science of bread; the biologists looked at the digestion of the different types of carbohydrates in a range of different breads (comparing breads that are best for quick fuel release and slower fuel release keeping you full for longer). The chemists looked at the respiration of the yeast cells and the chemistry of the bread making process including the formation of gluten and the Maillard reaction that
causes the browning effect on the crust. Then as well as comparing the heat transfers that take place during the cooking process, the physicists also looked at the aerodynamics of the different bread types, not that bread is usually used as a javelin, discus or frisbee but it made for an fascinating presentation! Other teams looked at how the cooking method can affect the quality of the food (comparing frying, boiling, microwaving and steaming).
All of the teams produced posters detailing their findings and they also created a 2-3 minute video, some of which were highly entertaining! All of the pupils will have developed collaborative working skills and video editing, as well as discovering new things about their chosen topic too.
Dr Natalie Watson | Head of Science
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THE MALVERNIAN