Finalists in the Cambridge Biology Challenge
Excitingly, two KES teams have qualified for the final of the Cambridge Biology Challenge, following their participation in a competition that attracted over 500 school teams nationwide.
Run by Homerton College, this competition challenges students in Years 10–13 to think deeply about the kinds of questions posed at Cambridge. Since October, teams of up to five students have responded to a series of interview-style questions in creative formats, including posters, videos, songs, podcasts, and essays.
The four questions posed were:
- Does behaviour fossilise?
- Pick an aspect of Winter/Christmas and discuss it from a biological perspective
- Why do we dream and what might animals dream of?
- Using an example, discuss how Biology can explain a mysterious thing
Five KES teams entered the challenge, with two of them reaching the final thanks to their imaginative submissions, which included music videos and podcasts.
Team ‘Bio Beats’, comprising Sarah S, Cassie M, Amelie R, Ella M and Phoebe S, chose to express their creative response through original music videos. Together they wrote and performed songs, producing a video for each entry. Impressively, they achieved a Distinction in all four rounds and were ranked as high as 4th nationally. You can watch their festive response to one of the questions here.
Meanwhile, the second finalist team - 'Team Evolve' - comprising Alvina and Alisa S, Esther L, Freya L and Amelie H were equally outstanding. Their entries, including a podcast exploring the world of Zombie Fungus, earned them three Distinctions and one Highly Commended. They, too, featured among the top 10 teams on the national leaderboard going into Round 4.
The final will take place this August at the University of Cambridge and we wish both teams the very best of luck.
