Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Competition National Finals

After winning the Regional Heat at Hull University, we attended the National Finals of The Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Competition at Bristol University to compete against another 16 schools from around the country.  From the beginning we felt we were treated like winners as we booked into the hotel and then were taken to ZaZaBazaar for a meal where we could choose from different cuisines from around the World. We then went to ‘At Bristol’ which opened for a private evening viewing for the 50 competitors.   

The next day we had an extremely early start but were keen to get to the University Laboratories as, having being given the task the night before, we knew it would be challenging. The practicals were lengthy and many teams including us struggled to finish all the work involved. At the end of a tiring six hours we heard a lecture on the Chemistry of the Atmosphere’ by Tim Harrison.  The winners were announced and although we didn’t finish in the top three we received prize money of £100 and gained experience of working in a pressurised environment of a modern Chemistry laboratory working with state of the art equipment. Overall it was an interesting two days which gave us an insight into University Life. 

Rajan Kapur, Philippa Jolly, Katie Sissons, Year 12