A QE team has qualified for the final of a prestigious national chemistry competition, overcoming the challenge of 19 local schools.
Sanchit Agrawal, of Year 11, James Tang, of Year 10, and Year 9’s Bashmy Basheer and Nico Puthu won the Chilterns & Middlesex Section of the Top of the Bench competition, scoring 90%. In second place was Westminster School on 75%.
The competition for 14-16 year-old students is run by The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and requires entrants to answer some questions individually and some as a team. It is part of the RSC’s outreach programme through which they aim “to inspire and enthuse the next generation with chemistry”.
“The boys did exceptionally well,” said Chemistry teacher Dr Elizabeth Kuo. “They achieved a very high score and are now looking forward to the final at Loughborough University in April.”
The final is organised by the RSC’s Education department and includes a short test of factual chemical knowledge and a practical, chemical, problem-solving team exercise. The Top of the Bench title goes to the school with the best overall school performance and there are also prizes for the five runner-up teams. There is also a prize, The Jacqui Clee Award, for the outstanding individual contribution to the day.