In the first session they produced their own pure ‘table’ salt.  They crushed and ground rock salt using a pestle and mortar, added water to dissolve the salt and then filtered it to separate the salt water from the residue.  Then came the best bit; they donned their safety goggles and used Bunsen burners for the first time to evaporate off the water leaving pure ‘table’ salt behind.

With temperatures reaching 29°C the second session proved particularly popular and rather refreshing as the pupils made and ate their own ‘Claremont Grange’ ice-cream, using ice and the table salt to freeze their milky mixture.

Mrs Lisa Beal, Head of Science,  commented: “We are very fortunate at Hilden Grange to have specialist facilities and it was wonderful to share our science lab with such an enthusiastic bunch of young scientists.  It was the first time that they had been in a real lab, so they were particularly excited to use equipment such as Bunsen burners.  The Claremont children behaved impeccably and were a credit to their school.  They were a ‘cool’ bunch in more ways than one!”