STEM
Empowering Girls to Excel Science
Pupils celebrated Biology Week at the Senior School with a range of ac ti vi ti es to champion the value and importance of girls in STEM. The grand fi nale of the week featured a cap ti va ti ng talk by Rachel Owen , a dis ti nguished fi gure in the fi eld, serving as a clinical supply manager at Astra Zeneca. The School has welcomed a variety of inspira ti onal women working in STEM to talk to the girls. This includes a visit from author and astronomer Dr Sheila Kanani , who regaled Lower School pupils with fascina ti ng facts about space, her life as an astronomer and author, and the opportuni ti es available for females in the industry. Senior School Psychology Society pupils were visited by Dr Caroline Anderson , who gave an inspiring and very honest account of her experiences leading to her becoming a Clinical Psychologist, as well as the possible career pathways in psychology. Keen physicists in Year 11 took part in the Bri ti sh Physics Olympiad (BPhO) Intermediate Challenge – a compe titi on aimed at stretching students beyond the GCSE curriculum. The standard was extremely high and the girls performed excep ti onally well, with Olivia Zazzi ‐ Smith , Aster McCann , Daisy Wainwright , Julia Roberts , Melita Peel , Annabelle Latham , Alicia Johnstone and Catrin Fagan receiving Bronze awards, and Ellenore Whi tf ield , Catalina Solan , Simran Sambhi , Lotus McCarry and Amelie Be tt achieving Silver awards. Year 12 Physics students competed in the BPhO Senior Physics Challenge , an online and wri tt en compe titi on consis ti ng of hugely challenging problem ‐ solving tasks, and achieved outstanding results. Constance Fowles , Alexa Byrne and Kirsten Robertson achieved the Bronze II award, Abigail Jeavons achieved the Bronze I award. Jess Dodgson in Year 13 took part in the Interna ti onal Psychology Olympiad 2023 , achieving a Gold award and ranking 17th globally out of 334 entries, as well as being the only UK entrant to achieve the Gold award. Compu ti ng Pupils in Years 3 ‐ 9, plus our GCSE and A ‐ level computer scien ti sts, took part in this year’s Bebras computa ti onal thinking challenge, with many of our girls achieving strong results. 19 pupils achieved the pres ti gious Gold award, placing them in the top 10% na ti onally, and were invited to take part in the Oxford University Compu ti ng Compe titi on (OUCC) . Special praise to Robbi Chan in Year 7, who achieved best in school for the junior challenge with a Gold award, Bethany Flynn in Year 9, who was awarded best in school for the intermediate challenge, Annabel Bartle tt in Year 10 for the senior challenge, and Cerys Fagan in Year 13 for the elite. Year 10 and 11 computer scien ti sts competed in the Perse Coding Team Challenge in January – a compe titi on which challenges students to complete increasingly di ffi cult coding
A ‐ level students performed excep ti onally in the UKMT Senior Mathema ti cal Challenge
Dr Sheila Kanani with Lower School pupils
problems in Python 3. Year 8 also demonstrated their enthusiasm for compu ti ng as they competed in the NCSC’s Girls CyberFirst Compe titi on. This compe titi on, aimed at inspiring girls to pursue a career in cyber security, had pupils compe ti ng in a variety of challenges for ten days. The girls performed extremely well and found it a rewarding opportunity. Maths Lower and Senior School girls took part in a variety of challenges and events that showcased their passion for mathema ti cs. For Number Day, Year 5 challenged their peers with a series of maths challenges that progressively become more di ffi cult as the girls became more ambi ti ous and compe titi ve. A group of avid mathema ti cians from Years 11 and 12 visited the Storyhouse to experience their Maths Inspira ti on event which, covered topics including escaping mazes and message encryp ti on. It was an exci ti ng opportunity for students to see the real ‐ world applica ti ons of maths and be inspired by professionals in the fi eld. A ‐ level Maths and Further Maths students demonstrated their knowledge in the subject by compe ti ng in the UKMT Senior Mathema ti cal Challenge and performing excep ti onally well. Year 13 student Cerys Fagan went on to compete in the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangeroo and achieved a merit. Year 12 students Milly Hay , Alice Wu , Tamsin Watson and Antonia Traista also showcased their passion for maths as they par ti cipated in the Na ti onal Mathema ti cal Olympiad for Girls and received outstanding results. In February, Neha Sreeram, Cherry Lam, Likitha Pydah and Kera Monaghan in Year 10 par ti cipated in the Maths Feast , a regional maths compe titi on run by the Advanced Mathema ti cs Support Programme . They tackled challenging problems and secured a prize for consistently scoring highly in every round. Year 12 student Alice Wu was invited to a prize giving at Bletchley Park a ft er being awarded a Silver medal in the Na ti onal Cipher Challenge . This is a na ti onal compe titi on run by the University of Southampton, sponsored by Trinity College Cambridge and GCHQ. The event included talks, as well as a tour of Bletchley Park with her peers, where she learnt about the importance of cryptography and its relevance today.
Year 12 success in the Na ti onal Mathema ti cal Olympiad
Alice Wu at Bletchley Park
Year 11 success in the BPhO Intermediate Challenge
Year 12 success in the BPhO Senior Physics Challenge
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