The Royal Society of Chemistry’s annual ‘Top of the Bench’ chemistry competition, challenges teams to take part in a series of practical activities, using lab techniques beyond the curriculum, to problem-solve and hone their chemistry skills. This was a fantastic opportunity for the team of pupils who competed at the world-class Chemistry Teaching Labs at the University of Oxford.
Jasper (Fifth Form, Gascoigne), Sukhmani (Fourth Form, Queen Anne), Sofia (Third Form, Feilden) and Henry (Third Form, Gascoigne) worked superbly together, allocating tasks to tackle the problem with admirable effort and skill. Sofia reflected that this was ‘an amazing opportunity to discover what a career in chemistry would look like and to use equipment that we had never seen before’.
The competition closed with a talk from Fiona Marston OBE PhD (Chair and CEO at Erebagen Limited), who took the opportunity to highlight just how varied careers in chemistry are and encouraged pupils to relish the challenges that come from this. The Chemistry Department are extremely proud of the pupils involved who were superb ambassadors for the School.
