Starter for 10, Welsh Schools take up the challenge!
21 September 2018
On a new stage and being broadcast live across Wales young Welsh scientists have been competing in the Life Sciences Challenge annual quiz run by Cardiff University School of Medicine.
The Life Sciences Challenge is an inter-school competition for Year 10 pupils designed and delivered by PhD students, medical students, scientists and early career researchers within the School of Medicine.
The fun, interactive and challenging quiz has been created to share an enthusiasm for trying to understand the natural world and to inspire pupils to consider the extensive possibilities of careers involving science.
In February, nearly 400 pupils from 42 schools across Wales entered the preliminary stages of the competition, which takes place online. The quiz is run for both English and Welsh medium schools in parallel competitions. Each team comprises four members who have an interest in maths, science and the world around them. The eight top scoring English and Welsh medium schools took part in the quarter and semi-finals held at the start of the summer in schools across Wales.
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Commonwealth Games silver medallist and current medical student Lewis Oliva presenting the winners certificates.
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The finals took place in the impressive surroundings of Lecture Theatre 1 at UHW.
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The audience was made up of staff, students, family and friends.
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The pictionary round proved very popular.
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Ysgol Glantaf team from Cardiff.
For the first time in its 6 years the quiz was hosted in the impressive main lecture theatre in the Education Suite of the Heath Hospital and was broadcast live via link across Wales to all competing schools and the families of teams entered.
The finalists vying for the title of 2018 Life Sciences Challengequiz teams of the year were St Cyres, Penarth v Ysgol Clywedog, Wrexham (English speaking version and Ysgol Glantaf, Cardiff v Ysgol Calon Cymru, Builth Wells (Welsh speaking version). All four schools were new to the final, and both finals were very closely contested competitions.
After 7 rounds of tough competition the eventual winners were St Cyres and Ysgol Glantaf. Both schools were presented with a trophy and a cheque for £150 to be spent on science within the school. A big thank you to the prize sponsors - The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Cymru Wales.
A regular participant in the School of Medicine’s Science in Health activities, Nicholas Alford, Deputy Director of Faculty of Science at St Cyres, said;
“We are very grateful for the opportunities you provide for our students. The LSC has generated a real buzz around the school as we have progressed to the final. Science in Health Live has inspired and germinated many careers in research and medicine and the work experience weeks you offer are incredibly enriching; allowing our students’ university applications to stand out. Thank you.”
