Overall Competition Winner

OVERALL WINNER of the Hilary Term 2021 Schools Science Writing Competition Rohit Antonygnaneswaran, Year 12, Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School A levitating frog and Scotch tape. Would you be surprised to know that they were both part of a scientist’sresearch projects that led to breakthroughs in different fields of physics? Or that both of these…

WINNER of the Michaelmas Term 2020 Schools Science Writing Competition Lucy Addis, Year 12, Royal School Armagh, Armagh Revolutionary. It’s a word that’s seldom used to describe cancer treatments, but that’s about to change. Immunotherapy is a “game-changing” new treatment that uses viruses to directly kill cancerous cells and make it much easier for the…

Luke Hayward, Year 12, King Edward VI School Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire Invention, discovery and scientific advancement are arguably the things that set humans apart from all other beings on our planet. Our capacity for abstract thought, coupled with a deep desire to apply our findings to real world problems has expanded the capabilities of Homo sapiens…

Winner of the Hilary Term 2020 Schools’ Writing Competition Louis Rush, Year 12, Yorkshire To remain or to migrate is just another iteration of the fight or flight dilemma. Society is under stress, but we have protesters in our streets instead of adrenaline in our veins. By the next decade, we will certainly have to…

by Jake Pugsley, Year 13, The Cotswold School, Gloucestershire When I hear the term “unsung hero of science,” the first thought that comes to mind is of an underrated, belittled researcher, his theses discredited by the wider world of erudition. I imagine a man, slumped at his desk, disparaged by his fellows’ baseless accusations that…

by Ben Bradley, Year 12, Reigate College, Surrey. “The good thing about science is that it’s true, whether or not you believe in it”- Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist and science communicator. But in the age of fake news, since when has the truth been important? Despite consensus throughout the scientific community on the threat of…

by Arushika Aggarwal, Year 12, The Tiffin Girls’ School, Surrey. Being born and brought up in an Indian household, chillies have always been an essential ingredient in our daily meals. It just so happens that the chilli pepper has a fascinating evolution behind it, and the way it reacts with our bodies to allow us…

By Emma Baker, Year 13, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Durham Vivien T. Thomas never had much more than a high school diploma, yet remains one of the most significant pioneers of cardiac surgery to date – having helped save the lives of countless children with congenital heart defects through surgical techniques he invented. His…

By Jemima Longcake, Year 12, Kirkbie Kendal School, Cumbria They may not wear the pristine white lab coat, or work in the esteemed laboratories of CERN or Fermilab. They do not lecture thousands in auditoriums, but they they lecture hundreds in our school lab rooms and classrooms. They are, for many of us, our first…