What’s your go-to mnemonic for revising chemistry? Share it with us here – we’d love to see your best memory hacks! Check out our page 27 in the January print issue where we explore some more of the classics like OIL RIG and quirky ones like PPOO. #edusky

We did a thing! A depressingly-necessary message. Chemists, do as much as you can to support teachers and schools, or the student pipeline dries up and departments close. With @sci-drscott.bsky.social and colleagues. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Last day of Christmas at Chatsworth House...

What a difference an hour makes... yesterday's walk in the gardens at Chatsworth brought us some unexpected (and not forecast) snow...

Blackpool putting on its best face tonight for Six!

Sunset in my little patch of the world. 1st Jan 2026...

Another few hours of wanderings @beamishmuseum.bsky.social we got to see them making rhubarb and custard boiled sweets today and also got a tin loaf fresh from the oven at the bakery.

A full day of @beamishmuseum.bsky.social wanderings

A grey day but relaxing, blowing away the cobwebs on the Durham heritage Coast with sea glass hunting at Seaham.

Chemistry pressie this year :)

Quick trip into Ramsbottom to pick up food and see the trains.

January gave us the hunt for the male contraceptive pill, while in June we looked at how magnetic stirrers affect results. Back in November, we explored the chemistry of port. All this and more in our 2025 review. www.chemistryworld.com/collections/...

For the 2nd year in a row my daughter has come top of the school quiz league... I am beginning to enjoy the annual arrival of her prize, a new @guinnessworldrecords.com book

Grittibänz... what they lack in beauty they make up for in taste...

Daughter is volunteering at her swim club's Christmas party for the little ones... so i am getting on with some marking...

Do your learners have a chemistry identity? It’ll help them develop their interest, motivation and confidence in chemistry lessons. Read this by @fidgetslisa.bsky.social to find out more 👉🏻 edu.rsc.org/opinion/do-i... #sciteachuk #chemed #scienceteacher

Looking for an exciting sci-comm gig? Digital content assistant at the RSC's Chemistry World magazine could be it. Position closes on January 12, 2026 – new positions at the magazine don't come very often, so this could be a great opportunity.

Surprise your 14–16 and post-16 learners with unexpected colour changes in this counterintuitive example of equilibria chemistry ⬇️ edu.rsc.org/exhibition-c... #chemistry #edusky

Christmas festival done for another year. Some wonderful performances from the boys. Great to be alongside colleagues from teaching & support staff plus boys from different choirs & those studying GCSE music in the massed choir. The audience weren't enthusiastic singers this year so we were needed!

Today in #ALevelMaths my 2025 A-Level Calculated colouring went up on my website. Feel free to use :) blog.drbennisonmaths.com/blog/2025/12...

Hanukkah menorah at @manchester.ac.uk

I grew up in West Yorkshire so used to come here often but it's 30 years since I last came to the Brontë parsonage museum... such a gem of a small museum, very poignant.

It's the final week before Christmas.... so it's time to break out penguinone as the most festive chemistry i can manage while teaching NMR to Y13...

A christmassy day out in Haworth began and ended with a trip on @kwvrfriends.bsky.social .. parking is much easier in Keighley and it added nicely to the day out.

When ‘low’ level disruption is explained to non-teachers, it is often dismissed as: kids talk too much haha. The reality is that it is common for a teacher to be interrupted several times, deliberately, by multiple students to the point that a simple explanation is impossible.

A little bit of festive spirit is sneaking in....

On the train...chap complaining he had to do a sexual harassment course today... "2 and a half hours of my life wasted...."

Interesting... more and more of these seem to be popping up... and tbh seems like a nice gig, teach your specialist subject from home, no behaviour management, not sure about marking..? Surprised the army of ex teachers employed as private tutors haven't jumped up in support!

I did a similar scheme in 2005.. we got £50 a day... and i did 2 weeks whilst also balancing my PhD... I learned a lot in a tough school in East Manchester, definitely worthwhile

Urgh....

Dragging your chemistry class through assessment feedback, question by question, while they become increasingly frustrated and disengaged ... sound familiar? Discover how @doc-kristy.bsky.social helps her learners get the most out of exams using video feedback 👉 edu.rsc.org/ideas/captur... #STEMed

The Microbiology in Schools Advisory Committee, MiSAC, announces its Annual Schools Competition. Find out about this and explore the fantastic microbiology resources at www.misac.org.uk

You asked, we listened! Our new Partner Scientist membership is here for those working across science sectors. 🌐 Join interest groups, access free journals, earn awards & get funding to grow your career. Learn more: rsc.li/partner-scientist #ChemSky

How do you get your learners to engage with feedback after an exam? Discover how @doc-kristy.bsky.social uses video feedback and why it works 👇 edu.rsc.org/ideas/captur... #edusky

Enjoying the absolute craziness of the isomers of C5H10 that AI has generated for me.... planning my lesson starter around this...

I think it probably behoves us, as science teachers, to have a bit of a handle on the whole double-helix thing. www.nature.com/articles/d41... Was Franklin's work exceptional and essential - yes. Was it appropriately acknowledged in the Watson & Crick (1953) paper - no.

Nov 7th is the birthday of both Lise Meitner & Marie Curie. Of the 13 chemical elements named directly after real people (not mythological figures) only two are named after women: meitnerium and curium (the latter of which is named in honour of both Marie & her husband) #chemsky 🧪

❗ Curriculum review proposals revealed New curriculum in 2028: schoolsweek.co.uk/new-curricul... Proposals round-up: schoolsweek.co.uk/curriculum-r... Subject reccs: schoolsweek.co.uk/curriculum-r... Q&A with Becky Francis: schoolsweek.co.uk/interview-be...

Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.

Frankly, it’s amazing that schools work at all. Every day, hundreds of pupils stream through the gates and a vast, invisible system whirs into motion: teaching, safeguarding, meals, attendance, support, behaviour, communication, enrichment and care. A short thread about why schools are miracles:

Accountability stress is down slightly (11% → 9%), but the bigger picture? 94% of teachers are feeling stressed or unhappy about something at work. If you’re frazzled, it’s not just you. 😥

This makes me sad for the 40%... reduces pupils to a number and a couple of generic sentences. Is this how we summarise the rich tapestry of their educational experiences... in the chase for efficiency we have lost the humanity

A balanced article on AI... although it doesn't touch on the environmental impact of AI or ethical issues around IP and training AI models..

I wish teachers using LLM to make resources could see the future where they are paid less because they use Gen ai and where all the prompts and resources they made are repackaged and sold back to them as “innovative learning materials “, all as they enjoy the heat death of the planet

Calm morning ay Saltwick Nab to look for the shipwreck and remains of the alum works, bonus rock pooling and fossils.

Chemistry is about building bonds. With RSC membership, you can join subject communities, interest groups and industry events, making it easy to grow your knowledge, collaborate and make new connections. Buy 2026 membership now, you’ll get the rest of 2025 for free too👉 rsc.li/join #ChemSky

Biology bursaries are slashed... that will mean an uptick in people applying for chemistry bursaries and using their transcripts to suggest they have enough chemistry content to warrant being considered a chemistry trainee.... schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-swings-a...

For learners making the jump from primary to secondary science, studying neutralisation and pH is often one of their first experiences seeing 'real' chemistry in action. Discover how to make it memorable👇 edu.rsc.org/ideas/5-ways... #iteachchem #chemed