The Salters' Institute

The Salters’ Institute was founded in 1918 and, as the flagship charity of the Company, has a significant role in promoting the work of the Company, its heritage and legacy. Today the Salters’ Institute is a leading educational charity in:

the promotion of the teaching and learning of chemistry,
the support of young people to engage with chemistry and chemistry-related sciences, and
the encouragement of young people to explore and pursue chemistry-related careers in and beyond the chemical industry.

To read about the Salters’ Institute’s history, please see our Celebrating 100 Years booklet here.

The Salters’ Institute's flagship programme is the Festival of Chemistry which are one-day events for students aged 14-16, which involve groups of students visiting a university to learn about and be inspired to learn chemistry, including a practical experiment and a panel discussion career opportunities through chemistry. Since 1991, over 60,000 students at more than 900 Festivals have experienced the fun of practical chemistry.

The Salters’ Institute also has a programme of awards, scholarships and prizes to recognise excellence in chemistry and chemistry-related teaching and learning, academic, vocational and professional achievements. The awards are presented at the Institute’s Annual Awards Ceremony.

The Salters’ Institute has also in the past funded, through the University of York Science Education Group (UYSEG), the development of innovative teaching materials in order to improve teaching and learning in secondary school science. The Institute and the University of York developed three Advanced level (A level) courses: Salters Advanced Chemistry, Salters Horners Advanced Physics and Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology, and one course at GCSE level, Twenty First Century Science. The Institute is now looking at how to further promote Salters A Levels.

Visit the Salters’ Institute’s website here.