QE chemists win regional round of prestigious national competition – again!

For the second year in a row, a QE team has beaten off stiff opposition from leading schools to secure a place in the national finals of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench competition.

Across eight rounds of the Chilterns and Middlesex heat, the four QE chemists amassed 93 points – comfortably ahead of next-placed Harrow School and Merchant Taylors’, both of which had 84. QE now progresses to the national finals at Imperial College in March.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This victory is a fitting accolade for an outstanding Chemistry department, which prepares boys meticulously for exceptional achievements.” Mr Enright congratulated Chemistry teacher, Dr Elizabeth Kuo, and the School’s Head of Science, Dr Malcolm Russell, “on guiding the boys to success again in this prestigious competition”.

Teams in the competition must comprise two Year 9 students and one each from Years 10 and 11. For QE, these were Pranesh Varadarajan and Alexander Wingrave (Year 9), Bhavik Mehta (Year 10) and Abhishek Mukherjee (Year 11).

The competition requires entrants to demonstrate subject knowledge beyond what is required for the curriculum for their age. The national finals will involve them carrying out practical work and solving problems.

Dr Kuo said: "Our team did really well, hardly dropping a point.” She added that one of last year’s successful team, Mehul Jesani, who is now in Year 12, had given up his time to help the boys prepare.