Chemistry Symposium

News hot off the press is that the Chemistry Symposium results are out (although the certificates are still awaited by snail-mail), and the results look encouraging. In summary, this is a competition that goes some way beyond A level and which challenges the boys on every question.

The boys achieved 9 bronze awards (split in a 6:3 ration between the Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth) and 4 silvers, of which the Upper Sixth scored three. All these are excellent achievements, but the big news is that Andy Jiang (4e), who though only in the Fourth Form, achieved a silver award and the top score in the year. This is surely a remarkable achievement and shows a tenaciously academic spirit ready to take ambitious risks. One can but wonder what he will be achieving over the next three years, if already at this early stage he is realising better scores in these challenging competitions than most of the pupils in the 950 schools that entered the competition. 

The honours list in full is:  

Silver:  

• Andy Jiang 
• Ottokar Denham (U6m) 
• Richard Xu (U6b) 
• Tommy Guy (U6e) 

Bronze:  

• Macros Yiu (L6m) 
• Veljko Kosijer (L6b) 
• James Herbert (L6a) 
• Bertie Tillyard (L6m) 
• Toby Bemand (L6a) 
• Ted Hunt (L6m) 
• William Miao (U6f) 
• Aidan Wood (U6e)  
• Benjamin Smith-Bingham (U6d) 

A number of other boys scored near misses but will surely achieve at least bronze awards next year. It was heartening to see that, although the paper took two hours of precious free time, a large number of Upper School boys gave up their time to voluntarily sit the paper; good evidence, if any were needed, that Shirburnians continue to aspire to the highest academic standards. 

William Buckley, Head of Chemistry