Year 13 Chemistry students shine in Olympiad

There were participation certificates for all and  once again our students rose to the challenge with 7 students achieving Bronze status (Ryan, Will, Astrid, Charles, Rowan, Isaac and Ben) and 3  amazing Silver awards for Muhammed, Martha and Isabella.

The  UK Chemistry Olympiad. Round one took place on 26 January, with 11,838 students from 950 schools taking part – a new record for both.

This year’s paper was more accessible than  last year’s, which meant students needed to achieve higher marks to secure each award compared to last year. Students had to score 14–23 marks for the Bronze award, 24–37 marks for the Silver award and 38 or more for the Gold award.

The topics covered in the 2023 paper included rocket fuels, electronegativity, amino acid complexes, vaping and cheese. Electronegativity is a timely topic as it was the 90th anniversary of Linus Pauling’s proposing the concept of electronegativity in 2022. With the 2023 International Chemistry Olympiad being held in Switzerland, a question on cheese was obligatory, and quizzed students on the conversion of lactose to lactic acid during fermentation in cheese manufacturing.

We continue to support Olympiads for all 3 science  subjects  at different stages in Years 12 and 13 and are very proud  of our students who continue to demonstrate their capabilities in a very strong competitive field.  Well done to everyone!