SCIENCE students from a Darlington college have been given an opportunity to get a taste of their future career prospects.

A Level Chemistry students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, have once again enjoyed the opportunity to obtain a taste of higher education and work in university laboratories when they participated in Northumbria University’s annual Spectroscopy Day.

The group carried out a variety of different experiments, including the synthetisation of coumarin, a UV luminescent substance, and the investigation of the degradation of aspirin using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography).

Students ran samples on the FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red) before analysing the IR spectra, an essential activity in today’s chemical industry.

The event concluded with an insightful tour of the University’s campus allowing the students to observe day-to-day life in higher education.

Julia Magnall, teacher of Chemistry, said: "To work in the British chemical industry, an applicant needs to possess a good understanding of the subject, competent practical skills and show motivation and the ability to use their initiative.

"I am extremely proud to say that I saw all of our students demonstrate these skills today and Graeme Turnbull, lecturer from Northumbria University, was equally impressed, particularly with their practical skills they displayed."