Throughout the year, Oundle Science departments take advantage of the competitions and Olympiads that challenge and stretch pupils’ skills and knowledge and offer opportunities for pupils to express their enthusiasm for science. In 2024 pupils earned an impressive clutch of awards across all subjects.

This year the Physics department entered pupils into different levels of the British Physics Olympiad across all age groups from the Upper Sixth Form to the First Form.

At the top end of the school nine Upper Sixth pupils entered the BPhO Physics Challenge with six qualifying for the prestigious BPhO Round 1. In Round 1 these pupils achieved three gold awards representing the top 10% of all national entries. Sam (G) and Fred (F) achieved a Top Gold in the top 5% and qualified for Round 2. Both did exceptionally well on this incredibly challenging paper. Sam achieved a Gold award and along with twenty other pupils from across the country was invited to attend the residential training camp at Oxford University, from which the British team is selected for the international competition.

Lower down the school there were a record number of pupils participating in and achieving gold awards in three different competitions. Out of 231 entries, 55 pupils scored in the top 8% nationally and achieved Gold awards. There were 111 Silver awards achieved.

Special mention should go to Aston (B) who achieved a Gold award in the Intermediate Physics Challenge for the top Fifth Form pupils in the country. He also achieved a Silver award in the Senior Physics Challenge, which is targeted at the best Lower Sixth physics students nationally.

In January, eleven A level Chemistry pupils sat the RSC UK Chemistry Olympiad Round One paper, answering complex questions on an array of topics including the chemistry of the alloy bronze, fuel producing bacteria and the atmosphere. Three pupils were presented with Bronze awards and six pupils achieved Silver. Gold awards were won by those in the top eight percent of all entrants, and presented to Henry (G) and Sam (G), whose score of 52 placed him much higher.

This year, there was also a middle school chemistry competition for Third to Fifth Form pupils in the mid-Anglia region in which we achieved the following certificates: 14 Gold, 20 Silver, 19 Copper. Jimmy (G) was commended for coming third overall out of 430 pupils.

For the British Biology Challenge, pupils in the Third and Fourth Forms sat two twenty-five-minute multiple choice papers. Forty-nine Oundle pupils took part. Ten pupils achieved Bronze awards, and four achieved Silver, placing them in the top 8% nationally.

The British Biology Olympiad is an advanced problem-solving competition involving over 15,000 A level students from 1000 schools. This year 17 pupils from Oundle took part. Two pupils won Bronze, three won Silver and one pupil won Gold, placing in the top 6% of entrants. As the winner of the Gold award, Rupert (L) went on to compete in the preliminary round of the British team selection for the International Biology Olympiad.