Wednesday 31st January 2018
Regional Chemistry Competition Success
Year 12 chemistry students recently competed in the East Midlands round of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Schools’ Analyst Competition, which took place at the University of Nottingham. The competition was open to AS level (or equivalent) chemistry students across the country. The team from Stamford School, comprising of Jonty Mason, Melissa Van der Maat and Jacob Worthington, came first in the competition, allowing them to continue to the national finals at Bangor University in late June.The team will compete against approximately 20 other schools for an engraved glass trophy and prizes of up to £3,000. During the day, the team will be expected to undertake various familiar and unfamiliar tasks that are relevant to current industrial and social requirements, which allows them to exhibit their current skills, while also learning new ones.Dr Peter Jones, Head of Chemistry at Stamford School, commented:
“Under significant time pressure, the team had to complete a number of different analytical tasks during the lab session in order to solve a forensic mystery. They completed the tasks really well, demonstrating excellent levels of teamwork, organisation and strategic planning. I am sure that the national finals will be even more testing, but I’m confident that all three have the right qualities needed to perform really well in the forthcoming challenge.”Dr Samantha Tang, Public Awareness Scientist at the University of Nottingham, also commented, stating:
“(The team) scored very well for both teamwork and health & safety; they divided the tasks appropriately and discussed their findings as the afternoon progressed, thinking strategically and problem-solving together. They were also tidy and well organised!”