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01 May 2026

Chemistry Olympiad 2026

This January, a group of year 13 students sat the Chemistry Olympiad round 1 paper.

The Chemistry Olympiad is a high-level competition, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry and designed for A-level students to test and stretch their chemical knowledge beyond the standard curriculum. It promotes critical problem-solving and real-world application of chemical principles. We did really well, achieving the highest number of medals yet!

Congratulations to all our medal winners: Felix, Sinead, Jess, Tom H, Kiri, Paula, Anouska, Tom R and Oscar.

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Count on US

Big congratulations to the Camden Squadrilaterals, a group of year 9 students who took part in the Count on Us tournament Heat on Tuesday 28 April.

Count on us is a London wide maths tournament with five competitive maths puzzle rounds, and the team did the school proud by coming first in the heat and securing their place at the final in July.

It is our fifth year participating in the tournament, and our fifth time qualifying for the finals. The Camden girls have a reputation for being the team to beat!

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They committed many lunchtimes to practice the puzzles, which led them to success. They were highly praised by teachers from the competing schools for their quick thinking and algebraic skills.

Well done to Agatha, Catalina, Clemmie, Lucy and Maryam in year 9.

The maths department is very proud of you and wish you luck for the final. Go Squadrilaterals!!

Ms T Hussain

Maths Student of the Week

Thalia 8M – For some great work on probability. Well done!

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Assembly Speaker – 20 April 
Jim Avant, Thames Tideway Super Sewer Project

This assembly featured an unexpectedly fascinating talk from Jim Avant, Programme Director at Jacobs, about his extensive work managing the Thames Tideway Super Sewer Project.

A veteran of major projects like the 2012 Olympic Park, Avant highlighted the urgent need for London’s new ‘Super Sewer’ to prevent millions of tonnes of raw sewage from overflowing into the River Thames during heavy rainfall. The project addresses a crisis dating back to the 1858 ‘Big Stink.’ While Joseph Bazalgette’s original sewers were revolutionary, they were built for a population of 2 million; today, London has nearly 10 million people producing over 1.25 billion kilos of waste annually. To solve this, engineers have spent seven years constructing a £4.4 billion tunnel that stretches 25km and reaches 66m deep. Over 20 deep shafts were constructed to connect the existing sewer network to the new tunnel. This massive undertaking has already diverted 20 million tonnes of sewage, finally allowing wildlife to return to the river, and it has created new public spaces along the riverbank. 

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We all found the talk surprisingly gripping, as Jim transformed a functional necessity into a story of global ambition. Beyond the "Super Sewer," he highlighted Jacobs’ work on iconic projects like the Panama Canal expansion, flood-proofing the Golden Gate Bridge, and the upcoming restoration of the Palace of Westminster. It was a brilliant look at how engineering tackles the world’s most complex challenges, leaving many of us inspired by the sheer scale of their work and future plans.

Eva
Sixth Form Head Girl

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition 

Our gold DofE expedition took us to the Lake District from March 28–31.

A detailed report will follow next week, but the Gold DofE group of 20 students sallied forth into the mountains in the Lakes.

Garry Doyland

 

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