Hymers College team take 3rd place in international chemistry competition
4 Hymers students travelled to the final of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) Top of the Bench competition in Wales this month.
The RSC Top of the Bench competition is a chemistry challenge for students aged 14-16. Running for over 20 years, it gives children the chance to see chemistry in a new light and put practical and teamworking skills into action.
Aryan K, Rayan M, Kowthar K, and Eva Maria K, from Years 9-11, beat off the opposition in two previous rounds in Hull and East Yorkshire to qualify.
Team member, Eva Maria K, said: “(It was) a challenging but exciting experience!”
Hymers joined 27 other teams from across the UK and Europe at the University of Cardiff for this year’s final, which had the theme ‘air’.
Kowthar K said:”Meeting new people and trying new things was enjoyable. (It was) nice to be surrounded by a hard working and high ability team of people.”
The entrants sat a 40-minute written exam to test their chemical knowledge. They were pushed to apply critical problem-solving skills, think more creatively and apply their knowledge to real-world situations.
Next was a 90-minute practical where they altered the relative concentrations of chemicals in a bottle to produce the specified times for a colour-change reaction. Not an easy task…especially when the final mixtures were stopwatch-assessed by the examiners!
Mr Gordon Prescott, Head of Hymers Chemistry, said: “I was particularly impressed both by the extent and quality of the students' preparation, including how they assimilated and ran with the advice they received, and by their impeccably harmonious teamwork, leading to coolness and focus under considerable pressure, both of time and of the occasion.”
The RSC staff and Cardiff University students tallied up the scores, and we’re proud to say our team was awarded a well-deserved 3rd place!
Rayan M and Aryan K said: “(It was) a fun experience; a new experience. The teamwork helped us to achieve.”
Thank you to Mr Gordon Prescott, Head of Chemistry, and Dr Emily Robinson, chemistry teacher, for supporting our students in this wonderful opportunity.
