Elle Wadsworth, Benoit Quignon and Mohamed Benama delivered chemistry outreach workshops at the l’Université de Picardie as part of the British Council’s Science In Schools Programme, which included a series of talks, lecture demonstrations and practical work.

Up to 150 ‘Aimhigher’ students over the five days were given a talk on Gases in the Air delivered by Elle in English and translated, where necessary, by Benoit and Mohamed, who are both French nationals.

The local children experienced hands-on practicals to help develop their investigation skills, while talks were also given by the British Council and the host University on higher education and careers in chemistry.

This is the fourth year that the British Council in France has both sponsored and worked with Bristol ChemLabS. In previous years outreach activities have been held in northern Paris, Marseille and Lille.

Tim Harrison, Director of Outreach at ChemLabS, said: “Bristol ChemLabS’ ability to provide quality outreach events is evidenced by the continued sponsorship by the British Council. We’ve had some really positive feedback from both pupils and teachers, who found the activities insightful. This sort of outreach work is fairly limited in France so we hope our efforts are inspiring scientists of the future.”

Sarah Bagshaw, Project Coordinator for the British Council in France, said: "Some of the comments from the teachers particularly reflected their appreciation of the Bristol team in adapting the content to the pupil's level, making the activities and chemistry explanations fun and interesting, while generally being open to the experience and interacting well with the pupils."