Superb Science Successes for Sasha
A Withington Girls’ School Sixth Former is celebrating an impressive duo of successes in two of the country’s most prestigious Science challenges.
Sasha Geim – who holds a conditional offer to read Natural Sciences at Pembroke College, Cambridge – has been placed amongst the top 15 students in her age group in this year’s British Physics Olympiad and is one of the top 30 winners in the National Chemistry Olympiad. She will now go on to participate in the prize-winners’ Science camps, which are being held at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge over the Easter holidays.
In the first round of the Chemistry Challenge, Sasha emerged in the top 0.5% of students from a field of nearly 6,600 students, leading to an invitation to join a residential course at the University of Cambridge. The event will include theoretical and practical tests and the four highest ranked students will represent the UK in the 50th Chemistry Olympiad in Bratislava and Prague, Slovakia and Czech Republic in July.
Hot on the heels of her Chemistry achievement, Sasha was delighted to hear that her success in the British Physics Olympiad – which attracted 1600 entrants – has earned her a place at the BPhO Easter Training Camp at Oxford. The Camp is designed to develop students’ skills for the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) and five students will be selected for the British team, who will compete in the (IPhO) in Portugal in July.
Last year, Sasha won the Roentgenium Award in the Chemistry Challenge, an award given to only the top 0.8% of candidates. She then went on to a residential course at Cambridge followed by an Award ceremony at Goldsmith’s Hall in London where she gave a presentation to the other 5 award winners.
Withington Head of Science, Mrs Lisa Bradshaw said: “The Olympiads are very challenging tests designed for the most able Sixth Form students who sit extremely demanding examinations and have to work through problems in a very tight timescale. To reach the subsequent round in even one science Olympiad you really do have to be one of the best of the best and Sasha has proved she is in that category in both Chemistry and Physics.”
Sasha said: ‘I have already learnt so much just preparing for the Olympiads and, although the prospect of several -hour exams is quite daunting, I look forward to learning much more!’
