Science in the real world

16 July 2010

Understanding how science is applied in the real world of engineering was the theme behind BOC’s Year 10 Science Challenge, won on Thursday by a team of 15 year old students from Sale Grammar.

They and the other schools taking part had been asked to design, build and test a model of a ‘direct cooler’. This is a key part of the process by which BOC extracts oxygen, nitrogen and argon from the air around us. These gases are then used in a wide range of applications, from steelmaking, to food processing and healthcare.

The final of this six-week competition took place at BOC’s Customer Service Centre in Worsley, Manchester. Each team presented the results of their project to a panel of BOC experts.

“Everyone at the school is delighted,” explained Dr Chris Davies, a member of Sale Grammar’s Science Department. “The team put in a lot of hard work and also learnt a great deal of science and engineering in the process.”

Mark Jenkinson, Head of BOC’s Customer Service Centre, was also delighted at the standard of the entries. “We were very impressed with the enthusiasm shown by all the participants, as well as the amount of work they put in and the technical understanding they demonstrated.”

For details of BOC’s schools competitions in the 2010-2011 academic year, contact Learning and Development Manager, Barbara Blackburn, on 0161 930 6252 or email barbara.blackburn@boc.com