A team of pupils from St Margaret’s School for Girls, Aberdeen, has achieved an outstanding result in the Cambridge Biology Challenge, ranking 8th out of 941 teams from across the UK and beyond.
The team, Project Mg, comprising S5 girls Aishah, Clarissa, Dami, Stephanie and Yashila, took part in the Cambridge Biology Challenge, run by Homerton College, University of Cambridge. The competition challenged pupils to explore thought-provoking questions through creative and scientifically informed responses.
Across four rounds, teams were invited to respond to questions such as “What skills are needed for success in biology?”, with entries submitted in a variety of formats including posters, essays and animations.
Project Mg impressed throughout the competition, submitting a poster, two essays and a video. Their entries earned three distinctions, a Most Original Runner-Up Award in Round 1, as well as three Badges of Merit, recognising particularly impressive aspects of their work.
Their consistently high performance saw the team invited to attend the prestigious Cambridge Biology Challenge Celebration Event at the University of Cambridge. The day included a science-themed escape game featuring puzzles inspired by Cambridge University interview questions, a tour of the university and a lecture from one of its professors.
The event culminated in an awards ceremony, where the girls discovered that they had achieved an incredible 8th place out of 941 participating teams.
Aishah said: “I really enjoyed taking part in the Cambridge Biology Challenge and it allowed me to develop my skills in areas such as research and critical thinking. It was great working with my team across each round to submit a creative, scientific entry. As there were over 2000 participants, we were pleasantly surprised to discover we had been placed amongst the highest ranking. Attending the celebration event in Cambridge was definitely a memorable experience for us!”
Yashila added: “The Cambridge Biology Challenge was an invaluable experience, which allowed me to understand more about biology concepts beyond the classroom textbooks. Discovering that we were invited to the university was a surprising yet exciting milestone. Reflecting on our achievements I realised that it could only have been possible thanks to our teachers pushing us to strive further.”
The success is a fantastic achievement for Project Mg, highlighting the girls’ creativity, scientific curiosity, collaboration and critical-thinking skills, while demonstrating the rich opportunities available to St Margaret’s pupils to extend their learning beyond the classroom.