On Wednesday 6 March, Year 10 Science students enjoyed a stimulating series of lectures at GCSE Science Live! by five of the most charismatic and influential scientists working in the UK today.

• After an invaluable talk from the Chief Examiner about successful exam strategy, Professor Richard Dawkins gave a compelling lecture on evolutionary biology. We may all be well aware that we are descended from a common ancestor, but to be faced with irrefutable pictorial evidence that our ‘200 million greats grandfather’ was a fish is a thought-provoking experience.
• Mathematician Dr Simon Singh’s lecture was titled ‘The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets’. We learned that the team of writers for the long-running animated sitcom includes many gifted maths graduates, who delight in sneaking in as many obscure mathematical references as possible into the show.
• Professor Andrea Sella gave a flamboyant and hugely entertaining talk about chemical reactions, arguing that the truly interesting aspect of inorganic chemistry is the ‘stuff in between’ – what happens before equilibrium is restored. He also revealed a passion for unusual vegetables!
• After lunch, we enjoyed a drily humorous lecture from geneticist Professor Steve Jones, exploring the grey areas between nature and nurture, and outlining some of the major health risks that are facing an increasingly obese population.
• The last speaker of the day was Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, presenter of The Sky at Night on the BBC. Her exuberant lecture was entitled ‘What have the plaents done for us?’, and in it she detailed some of the findings sent back to earth from probes on Venus, Mars and the moons of Jupiter.