A NOBEL Prize winner went back to his Rastrick roots and faced interviews by science students.
Professor Sir John Walker received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1997 and returned to his hometown yesterday for a day back at school.
A former Rastrick Grammar School pupil, Sir John was awarded the top accolade for his work on the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of ATP, adenosine triphosphate – defined by the academic as the energy currency of life.
John Garratt, teacher of A-level chemistry and careers co-ordinator at the school, who is also an old boy of Rastrick Grammar School said: “It’s fantastic that our students can get to meet such an eminent scientist.
“I hope it inspires them to go on to choose careers in science and engineering as our country desperately needs them.”
Yesterday Sir John found himself back in the classroom, at Rastrick High School meeting headteacher Helen Lennie, head of science Clare Murphy and sixth form students.
He got involved in a year nine project on the topic of ‘Me, Myself and I’, which detailed the background of Sir John, his school days and his interest in science.
He also helped the students with a project for BBC School News Report day, agreeing to be interviewed for the project.
He then worked with the A-level science students, talking to them about university education and applying to study at Cambridge.
The Mayor and Mayoress of Calderdale, Clr John Hardy and wife Janet, also attended the Rastrick school.
Sir John, who is currently Director of MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at Cambridge University, was awarded the Copley Medal last year, which was first awarded by the Royal Society in 1731.
It is thought to be the world’s oldest scientific prize and has previously been awarded to Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
