QE has achieved its highest-ever tally of gold medallists in this year’s British Biology Olympiad.
Fourteen boys from Years 12 and 13 won gold in the competition, with a further five winning silver medals, three boys gaining bronze and one being ‘highly commended’. The 14 gold medal-winners represent 58% of QE’s 24 entrants, yet nationally only 6.6% of entrants took gold.
Eight of the 14 had scores of 53 or more and have therefore qualified to take part in team selection for the International Biology Olympiad, placing them among the top 150, or 2%, of the 7,200 entrants from 610 schools. The international competition begins with a theory paper taken in March.
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The highest-scoring Year 13 pupil was Haider Manzur, with 64, followed by Michael Yeung, on 62, while the top Year 12 scorer was Kavi Shah, who scored 61.
The British Biology Olympiad (BBO) consists of two multiple-choice papers taken online under staff-supervised examination conditions. It aims to challenge and stimulate pupils with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents. It is hoped that competing in the Olympiad will encourage students already interested in this subject to continue their study beyond A-level.
In addition to Haider, Michael and Kavi, those qualifiying for Round 2 of the Olympiad are: Omar Haidar, Rishi Umeria, Reece Patel and Saif Rehman, of Year 13, and Bushry Basheer, of Year 12.
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Congratulating the QE pupils on their performance, Biology teacher Mev Armon, who organises the BBO at the School, explained the preparations ahead of the competition. “Our boys have had a weekly training session, which includes presentations, discussions and exam techniques,” he said. “The majority of the preparation was at home, with many using advanced additional resources provided by the School. The boys have also been using exam material from around the world to help improve the breadth and depth of understanding.”