Senior lab technician Andrew shares his favourite experiments and the advice he’d give his fellow technicians
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Andrew Symonds is senior lab technician at Swanshurst School in Birmingham. Having completed an HND and a pioneering distance learning project set up by the Paint Makers Association of Great Britain (PMA), he initially worked in quality control labs and then in technical services. He left his job working in resin production one Friday and started as a lab technician at Swanshurst the following Monday, where he has been ever since.
Image source: © Ceinwen Whitehouse
Andrew Symonds is senior lab technician at Swanshurst School, a large, multifaith school in Birmingham. Having completed an HND and a pioneering distance learning project set up by the Paint Makers Association of Great Britain (PMA), he initially worked in quality control labs and then in technical services. He left his job working in resin production one Friday and started as a lab technician at Swanshurst the following Monday, where he has been ever since.
What do you wear to school? Do you have a favourite outfit for work?
I usually choose trousers over jeans and shirts with two buttoned breast pockets to keep things in. I tend not to wear a tie as it ends up getting caught in the boxes of stuff I often find myself moving about. Comfortable footwear is important as I’m on my feet a lot. A whitish lab coat is the norm. It amazes me how students fail to notice you when you’re not wearing it; it is a great trick to pick up the latest gossip.
What is your favourite experiment to set up?
I always enjoy the collapsing or crushed drinks can experiment. It is easy to set up and there is an awful lot of science involved in what seems like a simple experiment. The best bit is informing the students that they need to straighten the can out afterwards.
Tell us your most memorable moments as a school science technician
Demonstrating experiments for students from local primary schools was certainly memorable. It was lovely to see how excited they would get when you asked them to light the whoosh bottle, and how amazed they were by simple kitchen chemistry activities, like the red cabbage indicator experiment.
Tell us your most memorable moments as a school science technician
Demonstrating experiments for students from local primary schools was certainly memorable. It was lovely to see how excited they would get when you asked them to light the whoosh bottle (rsc.li/3CkGuKW), and how amazed they were by simple kitchen chemistry activities, like the red cabbage indicator experiment (rsc.li/3Eb43q8).
What’s one piece of kit in your lab that you couldn’t live without?
My microscopes; if I had to choose just one it would be my Leitz Laborlux K.
If budget was no object, what’s one piece of kit you would love to have in your lab/prep room?
See above, but with knobs on and a super-duper imaging system attached so I could share what is on the slide with students.
Get involved
Want to suggest a question? Want to be the next teacher, technician or trainer in this series? Email education@rsc.org today.
What’s on your bookshelf?
I like to read thrillers written by the likes of Ian Rankin and Peter James. On a different note, I would recommend an excellent science-based book about phosphorous, written by John Emsley called The 13th Element. It contains lots of science and important social history.
I also like to do the crosswords in the paper. On a good day, I get the cryptic one done in about 15 minutes. I keep the simple one for the journey home.
Imagine you can only share one piece of advice with your fellow technicians, what would you say?
If it isn’t broken, don’t mend it.
… And if you could only share one tip with teachers about making a technician’s life easier, what would you say?
Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
Who’s your hero?
Sir David Attenborough, his body of work speaks for itself.
Who’s your hero?
Sir David Attenborough, his body of work speaks for itself.
How do you relax?
I like going fishing in the warmer months and taking walks in the local countryside. I recently picked up my cameras again now the digital versions are as good as my old film ones.
Teachers ask technicians
In the last Meet the … article, we asked Jennifer Pierce to suggest a question for the next interviewee. She asked:
In the last Meet the … article, we asked Jennifer Pierce to suggest a question for the next interviewee: She asked:
What is your favourite joke?
The one that has always stuck with me is a classic that my mom used to tell me when I was a kid:
Q: Why couldn’t the Viper vip’er nose?
A: Because the adder, adder andkerchief.
We asked Andrew for a question for the next interviewee, and he suggested:
What do you love most about your job?
Emily Kelly
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