Independent School takes part in Intermediate Biology Olympiad for the first time |03 July 2021
The students who took part in the competition in a souvenir photograph with Mr Esparon and their biology tutor
For the first time this year, five A Level Biology students from the Independent School competed with secondary students in the UK and other countries across the globe in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad 2021.
The Olympiad is considered as a public exam so it was invigilated by using strict rules (such as no mobile phones) and students were only allowed to bring recommended resources.
The school obtained one silver medal, one bronze medal, two highly commendable awards and one letter of participation.
Students and the school are satisfied with the results from this first competition. The students found the event to be challenging and they intend to reference their participation in their higher/further education applications, which is encouraged by the UK Biology Competitions (UKBC).
The success of this run in the competition has led to the school’s adding this event to its calendar and to participate in other Olympiads.
This biology competition is organised by the UKBC. This charity encourages the study of biology at all levels by providing biology competitions for secondary school students. It is open to students in post-16 education studying at school or college level.
The Independent School’s participation in the competition this year was initiated by the Principal Andy Esparon who has previously worked in schools in the United Kingdom.
The initiative was quickly acted upon by the school’s science department.
As part of the competition, students had an hour to do an online multiple choice exam.The questions are normally set on topics students are likely to have covered at IGCSE and their first year of A-level. Some additional ideas are tested requiring their problem solving skills and understanding of core topics. Prior to the exam, the students had access to only a few past papers online.
Press release from Independent School