Two Routes Into Chemistry
This article appeared in AEGIS Standard magazine, February 2026.
Two Sherborne Boys pupils (LVI/Y 12) reflect on what it means to study Chemistry at Sherborne.
Nenad (from Serbian, joined Sherborne Boys in the Sixth Form):
Nenad has always been drawn to the big questions. “I have always been fascinated by science. I wanted to understand how everything happens. Why does soda have bubbles? What makes the sky blue? I perpetually had questions racing through my mind.”
It was only natural, then, that he expected Chemistry at school to be full of excitement but sadly the reality fell short until he arrived at Sherborne Boys. “Not only was I greeted by high-tech, modern and spacious laboratories filled with anything you’d ever need,” he wrote, “I was ecstatic to find that multiple times a week, the pupils had the chance to perform experiments practically by themselves. Flame tests, titrations, identifying unknowns, organic preparations, you name it”; Nenad was finally immersed in the hands-on Science he had been waiting for. “To me, this was everything I had hoped Chemistry would be.”
Marc (from Bermuda, joined Sherborne Boys in the Third Form):
Marc found the shift to the English curriculum a real adjustment. “I started Third Form in set 6 with not the best grades in Physics and Biology,” he recalled. But rather than be discouraged, Marc embraced the challenge: “I was encouraged to push myself and helped tirelessly by my teachers.” That support – and his own determination – paid off. By the time he came to choose his A Levels, his 8:8 score in dual award showed that he was more than up to the task.
“I found the course very fulfilling, and the feeling of finally mastering a topic extremely satisfying.” What stood out most for him were the Core Practicals. “They’re fun, especially at the level they get to, some lasting over several lessons. It was in these moments that Chemistry came to life.”
Two boys from different traditions, one with a head full of questions and unmet expectations, the other from a place of quiet perseverance and steady progress, have both found their route into Science at Sherborne Boys.
“Chemistry is about transformations, but it can also be transformative in its own way, as both our boys have discovered!” William Buckley, Head of Chemistry
