On Thursday 14 March, a select group of finalists gathered to discover their positions in the Under 14, Under 16, and Under 18 tranches of the three essay categories: Science, Technology & Engineering, and Maths for this year’s STEM writing competition. The competition was masterminded by a Sydenham High School Year 12 student in 2018 and has seen hundreds of entries each year since then, from pupils across London. This year, strict criteria were applied to whittle down the entries from each school into the finalist selection, and pupils from eleven different schools made the cut, including seven GDST schools, Townley Grammar, Dulwich College, JAGS, and Alleyn’s. The competition is a fantastic opportunity for pupils from Years 7 to 13 to develop scientific writing skills to disseminate information about topics that fascinate them.
It was wonderful to see so many schools represented at this year’s finals, and to be able to read such engaging and thought provoking essays. One judge even commented that some were better than undergraduate essays!
Ms Geldeard, Head
We are honored to have three expert judges from the STEM industry: Science Judge Professor Helen Fielding, Professor of Chemical Physics at the University of London; Tech and Engineering Judge Zainab Olaide Olaniyan, Senior Consultant at Avanade; and Mathematics Judge Cyprian Njamma, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. The overwhelming message from all three speakers was that career paths are not linear – more of a jungle gym than a ladder! This aligns well with our own school philosophy of ‘forge your own path’ and using failures as learnings. All three judges felt that there was so much potential in the room, with our finalists showcasing their ability to research, condense, and communicate their ideas effectively and engagingly, and they are sure that interesting futures lie ahead for them all! Please click here to read the Finalists’ Magazine.
It was wonderful to see pupils networking with other STEM enthusiasts from different schools, and their families even got involved in a quiz and other games. What a joyful evening.
