News Winning Formula for Chemistry Challenge 30.04.2025

In January, our Lower Sixth chemists had the opportunity to take part in the prestigious Chemistry Olympiad. Although this international competition is designed for Upper Sixth students, an impressive 31 girls took part in the challenge. They showed great resilience and determination as they tackled complex and unfamiliar topics such as enthalpy changes, acid-base behaviour, and even chemical decomposition in the context of clay pigeon shooting. Many gave up their mornings to engage with the demanding paper, and their commitment was truly commendable. A special congratulations goes to Olivia, Lower Sixth, who achieved a Gold Award; the first Gold for our school in six years!

Meanwhile, later in the Spring Term, our Year 10 students participated in the inaugural Junior Chemistry Challenge during their Chemistry lessons. Open to students in Years 9 to 11, this competition offered an exciting opportunity for pupils to apply their problem-solving skills to chemistry topics beyond the GCSE curriculum. Questions included advanced concepts such as mass spectrometry and the synthesis of ammonium nitrate. It was particularly encouraging to see how well our students performed in the calculation-based section. Congratulations to the five Year 10 students who were awarded Gold Awards, a fantastic achievement!