Gold and Silvers at the UK Chemistry Olympiad!

19 Apr 2012

Three Christ College pupils have cemented their reputation as being amongst the best Chemistry students in the country by winning a clutch of medals at the 2012 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) UK Chemistry Olympiad.

Llywelyn Davies from Brecon secured a Gold medal, whilst Blossom Tse and Lawrence Chu, both from Hong Kong, won Silver medals.

Head of Chemistry at Christ College, Dr Paul Smith, said: “With only the best candidates in the country even entering the Olympiad, to secure a Gold and two Silvers is a superb achievement.”

This RSC Olympiad remains the most difficult and prestigious competition for A-level chemistry students. Only the top few candidates in the country are actually entered, although this year the Society stated that there were more entries, approximately 2200, than ever. The top 6-8 students are then coached at a UK university to compete for GB in the world Olympiad competition. The examination was out of 80 marks with Gold medals awarded the top 10% of entries and silver to the next 25%.

Marks for the Christ College students were as follows:

Llew Davies – 51;
Blossom Tse – 44;
Lawrence Chu – 43.

Dr Smith added: “Although Llew comfortably reached the Gold standard, Blossom and Lawrence were also very close to Gold too. In other words this put all of them in the top 1 to 2% of A-level candidates in the country!”

This is an excellent achievement for all three, but particularly for Llew as it comes on top of his offer to read chemistry at Jesus College, Oxford next year.

Christ College has an outstanding track record in the RSC Chemistry Olympiad. In 2010 Andi Tao and Lukas Fischer-Wulf were both awarded Gold medals and both of them are now studying at Oxford University. In 2011 Agnes U also won a Gold medal whilst Rhiannon Brooks and Eva Friedl both received Silver medals.

Head of Christ College Mrs Emma Taylor said: “This proves we are producing some exceptionally talented young scientists at Christ College. The teaching of science at Christ College has always been a key strength, but the recent investment in new science laboratories is really beginning to pay dividends.”

Photo: Llew Davies