National Scientific Thinking Challenge at Durrington High School

In 2021, a group of friends from six different university chemistry departments created a test for Year 10 students to try.
By Lisa EdwardsContributor
Published 16th Jun 2023, 12:48 BST
Updated 16th Jun 2023, 12:49 BST
Durrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge Durrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge
Durrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge

It was the middle of the pandemic and learning had been badly disrupted. They worked at Warwick, Southampton, Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester and Oxford Universities and wanted to encourage students and give them something positive and enjoyable to try at a difficult time.

After more than 6,000 people took the test, and positive feedback from teachers and students saying how much they enjoyed the challenge, they decided to make this an annual event.

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This year four classes from Durrington High School entered the challenge in which students had to answer 34 questions in 50 minutes. No revision was undertaken and the questions were all based on the analysis of the tables and graphs.

Durrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking ChallengeDurrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge
Durrington High entrants in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge

Over 13.6K students took part from across the country and those scoring in the top 10% were awarded gold, the top 25% silver, and the top 40% bronze.

Durrington High students did amazingly well and achieved 9 golds, 8 silvers, and 22 bronze!

We are extremely proud of everyone who entered and enjoyed taking part in this challenge which we plan to repeat next year.

Related topics:ManchesterNewcastleBristolSouthamptonWarwick