Team chemistry earns Perse pupils place in national finals

A team of Year 7 pupils have demonstrated their scientific skills to qualify for the national finals of a major chemistry competition.

The group initially had to write, film and edit a five-minute video pitching their own idea about how to overcome a local environmental hazard in the You Be the Chemist Challenge.

They decided to focus on the flooding of the Fens and various methods to turn the excess water into useful drinkable water through various separation and filtration techniques that they have learned about.

Their video submission was good enough to qualify for the regional round, which was an online quiz consisting of four rounds of tough chemistry-related questions and trivia.

For next month’s national final at Cambridge University, the boys will need to pitch their Fens flooding and filtration idea to a panel of experts and complete a question-and-answer session with the judges and audience.