Issue 2, Feb 2001 (Back to Contents)

Rob King, Head of Chemistry at Radley College, has been awarded the prestigious Salters' award for the teaching of Chemistry. The prize is awarded on an annual basis and is open to any Chemistry teacher in the U.K. He was nominated by some of the pupils he teaches at Radley, supported by The Director of Studies, Andrew Reekes, Harry Hammond and the then Warden, Richard Morgan.

In addition to teaching, other factors are taken into account such as publications (Rob has written three popular text books); examination results; links with local industries and universities and with other schools (Rob is currently teaching part-time at Peers School in Blackbird Leys and has helped to inspire pupils in local prep schools) and, of course, references

The aim of the Salters' Company in making this award is to give recognition to those who can promote the understanding of Chemistry. It is a subject which, according to Rob, often receives a bad press since it is linked with many of the scare stories in the media where the word 'chemical' often means a substance that cannot be trusted and is impure.

As part of the process, Rob had to give a lesson observed by a team of three assessors the Clerk to the Salters' Institute, the Educational Co-ordinator of the Institute and the Head Master of Bedford School. This he found the most difficult part, having three assessors with note pads making copious notes while he taught his upper VI.2 set about Gibb's Free Energy and Entropy. Fortunately, he says, the lesson plan went swimmingly, the boys responded well and it was all over in a flash. We then heard that Rob was through to the final seven. He commented, "This meant more to me than anything else since they had based the decision on actually meeting me and seeing me teach amazing!"

The final round consisted of an interview at Salters' Hall in London in a large oak-panelled room where he was questioned by ten interviewers, all of whom were experts in one or other area. The questions were wide-ranging and were not the type that you could easily prepare for, such as how he would teach difficult areas to bright and not very bright students, how he would increase the number of students taking Chemistry and how he knows when he has taught a good lesson.

Rob was telephoned in the middle of a lesson, some three weeks later, to be told that he was the joint winner of the award with Christine Prior from Bede College in Sunderland. He proclaimed himself "delighted" and modestly insisted that there was a certain amount of luck involved but the boys at Radley were not at all surprised.