Prestigious science prizes scooped by South Hampstead High pupils

South Hampstead High School Sixth Former Sophia was recently awarded third prize in a national competition run by the global power house, Siemens.

Sophia wrote a 500 word report arguing that demographic change is the biggest challenge facing the world; her essay focused on the need for employers to make sustainability and durability a priority for infrastructure, offering jobs not only to those with experience, but also to those with the capacity to learn and the ability to deliver.

Sophia, who joined the school’s Sixth Form this year to study Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths, is hoping to study Materials Science with Nuclear Engineering at university; she already has an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship under her belt so far this year.

Pupils throughout the school have continued to impress with incredible results in a range of Science competitions this term. The school has had its best ever year in the notoriously difficult Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, with over 70% of Lower Sixth entrants receiving awards, including a Gold Award, three Silvers and six Coppers.

The Gold Award winner, Sixth Former Emma, also delivered a stellar performance in the British Physics Olympiad; Emma was subsequently selected to attend an astrophysics training camp at the University of Oxford and has since been invited to represent Britain in Beijing, as one of only five students (and the only female) on the British Astronomy & Astrophysics Olympiad – an stratospheric achievement.