Double victory for school students in Chemistry Challenge

A triumphant team of year 10 students scored a double victory in the South East Chemistry Challenge.

The Magdalen College School group won the July showpiece, held at Greenwich University, to take home certificates and gift vouchers. Their success came after they won their heat, organised by the RSC Thames Valley Local Section, at the University of Reading earlier this year.

The students were delighted by the result and prepared a short summary of their experience of the final, which can be found below.

Having progressed through the first quiz round of the RSC Chemistry Challenge as regional champions, we travelled to the University of Greenwich, in Kent, and were super appreciative of the very early start.

The competition started with a quiz, then moved to the lab where we used a number of techniques to differentiate between aspirin and sucrose in a murder-mystery case.

Being able to use state-of-the-art equipment, such as IR spectrometers and melting point machines, was novel and interesting. These techniques provided us with an insight into the fascinating world of chemical analysis.

The final session focused on clock reactions and rates. We worked through a series of experiments to try to align the colour change endpoint of the clock reactions with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

We were pleased with their efforts, being just a fraction of a second off the beat! Following the judges' adjudication, we were delighted to be awarded first place in the competition and very gratefully accepted the certificates and vouchers.

Thank you for the opportunity for such an interesting day!