ONE of the Tees Valley's leading FE colleges is strengtheningits award-winning science team with the...

1. New tutors are bringing science to life at SRC.
ONE of the Tees Valley's leading FE colleges is strengthening
its award-winning science team with the appointment of two new tutors.
Stockton Riverside College's (SRC) Bede Sixth Form welcome
chemistry tutor Helen Walton and physics tutor Bernard Taylor this
month, joining biology teachers Noreen Jackson, Gemma Bate and senior
biology teacher, Dr Richard Spencer to complete the department. Helen,
who has been teaching A-level science in the region for 12 years, said:
"I'm really looking forward to joining the team at SRC Bede
Sixth Form.
"The college is fantastic - the building is one of the most
well resourced I've seen and I'm keen to encourage students to
link up with businesses in the region and see the different career
options a chemistry qualification can provide for them."
Helen's passion for chemistry is evident, and she's keen
to encourage students to use their own mobile phones in the classroom to
bring the subject to life and "make the invisible, visible".
Students may use http://www.varsitytutors.com/math-tutoring their mobile phones in her classes to
take
photographs of molecular models simulating reactions, and then use these
photographs to create their own stop-motion animation videos which can
be used as a revision aid.

2. Bernard is equally enthusiastic about bringing science to life in
the classroom. From Billingham originally, Bernard has spent six years
teaching in Singapore and has won a host of awards during his 25 years
of teaching, including the SHAP (Salters Horners Advanced Physics)
Teacher of Physics Award, and is a dedicated member of the Institute of
Physics. Bernard said: "As a North-east native I'm keen to
explore the methods of engaging local businesses with the college, and
hope to invite guest speakers from local universities in to speak to the
students about physics-related topics and their options after sixth
form." Dr Richard Spencer, senior biology tutor at SRC Bede geometry help Sixth
Form, said: "We're really looking forward to welcoming Helen
and Bernard to the science team at SRC Bede. "We've got some
fantastic facilities here and the number of students studying science
subjects has increased rapidly over the past five years, which is great.
"We're looking to develop some science careers events in
the coming months, where we hope to invite local industry and school
children in to the college to encourage even more students to consider

3. science when thinking about taking their GCSEs and A-levels, and to
support local business wherever possible."
Dr Sujinder Sangha, principal of SRC, said: "At SRC we strive
to ensure our students have not only the qualifications, but also the
experience they need to take the next steps in their career.
"We work closely with businesses and higher education
providers in the region to support the Government's STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths) Agenda which aims to encourage young
people to pursue careers in these fields and helps local industry fill
the skills gap."
? To find out more about the science courses available at SRC Bede
go to www.stockton.ac.uk or call 01642 373 250.
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