Education

Education Zone

Science Technician of the Year

For the second year running, Gratnells are pleased to sponsor the Science Technician of the Year Award.This is a great opportunity to get recognised for the brilliant work you do, and win some prizes for yourself and your school or academy in the process.

FIRST PRIZE: £300 cash + £750 worth of Gratnells storage system + £200 worth of SciChem forensic investigation teaching kits.
SECOND PRIZE: £200 cash + £500 worth of Gratnells storage system.
THIRD PRIZE: £100 cash + £500 worth of Gratnells storage system.

Download your Science Technician of the Year 2010 Nomination Form today.

*** Deadline for receipt of applications now extended to December 20th 2010. ***

Gratnells in centre stage at Science Technician of the Year Awards ceremony

Professor Kathy Sykes presented the Gratnells Science Technician of the Year Award (2009) at a ceremony in London on 16th July. Kathy, who is Professor of Sciences and Society at the University of Bristol, has also been a presenter for the BBC on such series as: Tomorrow’s World, Rough Science and Journey into Time and Space.

The overall event was hosted by Marty Jopson, The One Show’s very own crazy inventor and the event – co-sponsored by Planet SciCast – was presented at the Royal Institution before an invited audience of junior scientists and film-producers, as well as science technicians, teachers and those representing science organisations across the UK.

First Prize winner Tracey Padgham receives Gratnells award from Professor Sykes The three winners of the Gratnells sponsored Awards were: Tracey Padgham of Cavendish School in Eastbourne (1st place), who is shown in the picture receiving her award from Professor Sykes, Liz Carter of Warwick School (2nd place) and Brenda Davies from Sandhurst School in Warwickshire (3rd place). As well as cash prizes and Gratnells products for all the winners, Tracey Padgham also won a state of the art microscope for her school which had been kindly donated by STE UK.(www.steuk.co.uk).

Of the Awards, Professor Kathy Sykes said: ‘It was a privilege to have been asked to play a key role and present the Gratnells Science Technician of the Year Award (2009). And I’m delighted that through this event Gratnells acknowledge how important the role of the science technician is in the teaching of the subject in our schools across the UK. Science technicians can often become the forgotten members of staff – but without the vitally important role they play science departments just wouldn’t be able to operate.’

‘We were delighted that Kathy Sykes agreed to support our Awards in this way, which did much to both encourage and inspire the work of science technicians in our schools,’ said Murray Hudson, Gratnells Sales and Marketing Director.

>> See our winner being interviewed by Murray, and watch a demonstration on combustion!

Igloo-building science technician wins Gratnells-sponsored film award

School Science Technician, Chris Bell, also won a prestigious Award for the Gratnells-sponsored ‘Best Film from a Science Technician’ at the Royal Institution ceremony.

Chris who works in the Science Department of Sacred Heart Catholic High School in Newcastle, submitted his film ‘Igloo’ after being handed a leaflet from his Head of Science promoting the annual Awards organised by Planet-Scicast.

'I had already made a short film earlier on in the year when we had an unusually heavy fall of snow, which demonstrated the properties of snow,' said Chris. 'And purely by co-incidence, I had borrowed some Gratnells storage trays from school that we use in the science prep-rooms as a "block-making mould" to form snow bricks to make an igloo.' Chris’s demonstration then went on to show how the properties of snow – of which its composition is 90% air – in the form of an igloo, make a great ‘soundproof’ space.

Murray Hudson, Sales & Marketing Director of Gratnells said: 'We were delighted to be able to sponsor this Award which highlights the essential – and often overlooked – role Science Technicians perform in schools and colleges up and down the country supporting the teaching of science, and we were delighted to honour Chris at this important event.'

As well as receiving the Award from Marty Jopson, Chris and his wife Leanne (who helped shoot the film) also had the opportunity to see another BBC celebrity at last month’s event – Professor Kathy Sykes, who was attending the event to present Awards on behalf of Gratnells for their Science Technician of the Year Award (see story above).

'It was a thrilling event in London which I enjoyed immensely. To be nominated was amazing, but to win was brilliant. I was buzzing for several days afterwards and igloos are now "really cool" in our school,' said Chris. And when Chris returns to Sacred Heart after the summer holidays it will be in his new role as Senior Support in the Science Department, when he can demonstrate more of his experiments directly to the students rather than on film.