Challenges & Olympiads

At Abbey College Cambridge we believe in challenging our students to achieve beyond the traditional curriculum. Our students have a proud record of success in national and international academic competitions.

UK MATHEMATICS TRUST SENIOR MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE AND BRITISH MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD

The Senior Mathematics Challenge is aimed at all 16-19-year-olds studying mathematics in the United Kingdom. Students answer 25 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes under exam conditions. Students scoring over 82 points receive a gold award, 65-81 points receive silver and 50-64 points receive bronze. Around 1000 of the top performing students are invited to take part in the British Mathematical Olympiad, and the very best can represent their country in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Here are the results achieved by our students since 2006.

Senior Mathematics Challenge

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Gold 12 24 19 23 24 32 12 27 14 31 15 27 27 39 21 12 9
Silver 9 14 18 15 17 14 8 12 20 26 26 31 44 36 33 21 20
Bronze 10 9 13 9 14 13 13 17 18 20 23 27 25 29 25 38 25

 

British Mathematical Olympiad – Round 1

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Gold 1 1 1
Silver 1 2 2 1 1
Bronze 1 2 1 4 2 1 1
Distinction 3 4 9 9 6 3 4 5 6 1 1 2 1 3 3 1
Prize Winners 3 4 1 6 4 1 1 1 1
In recent years 4 Abbey College Cambridge students have made it through the second round of the British Mathematical Olympiad and finished in the top 25 students in the country.

UK MATHEMATICS TRUST INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE

The Intermediate Challenge is aimed at our GCSE Mathematics pupils. It involves answering 25 multiple-choice questions in one hour. Here are the results achieved by our students in the Intermediate Maths Challenge.

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Gold 4 3 5 10 10 10 22 7 2
Silver 1 6 5 4 9 10 9 15 7 1
Bronze 1 4 7 3 4 14 4 16 6 2

THE BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD

The British Physics Olympiad is a competition organised by the Institute of Physics and hosted by the University of Oxford. It is designed to challenge and reward the best physicists in British Schools, and each year over 1,600 students enter the challenge. The competition takes place over 3 rounds with the top performing students being selected for the British team competing at international level. In 2010 we had a member of the British team who competed at the International Physics Olympiad.

Here are the results achieved by our students in the British Physics Olympiad since 2006.

British Physics Olympiad – Round 1

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Top Gold* 2 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Gold 5 1 4 3 1 1 2 4 1 1
Silver 2 2 4 3 2 1 3 6 2 2 3 3 2
Bronze I 3 2 1 1 3 2 1 5 2 1 5 2 3 2 1
Bronze II 3 3 4 7 1 2 1 4 3 6 5 3
Commendation 3 4 7 6 4 1 5 4 8 6 4 2 2

*Top Gold award introduced in 2011

BRITISH PHYSICS OLYMPIAD – ROUND 2

Since 2006, 12 Abbey College Cambridge students have progressed through to the second round of the British Physics Olympiad (finishing in the top 16 students in the UK). 2 Abbey College Cambridge students have made the national final.

GCSE PHYSICS CHALLENGE

The Physics Challenge is a one-hour paper for year 11 GCSE pupils. The paper includes multiple choice and short answer sections designed to test students’ knowledge and understanding of basic physical principles. Our students competed in the Physics challenge for the first time in 2016.

GCSE Physics Challenge

2016 2017 2019
Gold
Silver 2 2
Bronze 1 1 4 3
Bronze 2
Commendation 1 2 15

UK CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD

The competition, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry is designed to stretch and challenge the UK’s brightest Chemistry students. It is a challenging written test of chemical knowledge that takes place over two rounds. Questions are based on real world chemistry problems and give students an opportunity to develop and showcase some of the skills required for studying chemistry at university and beyond.

Here are the results achieved by our students in the UK Chemistry Olympiad.

UK Chemistry Olympiad

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Finalist 1 1 1
Gold 1 1 3 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 3
Silver 6 3 5 2 2 1 6 7 3 3 10 5 7 5 3
Bronze 2 5 4 5 3 2 6 5 3 5 8 6 7 6 6

CAMBRIDGE CHEMISTRY CHALLENGE

The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge is open to our Lower Sixth A Level students. It is set by a team of experienced teachers and university chemists. The challenge consists of a 90-minute written paper. Students who perform well receive a certificate of achievement, and those who perform best receive an invitation to a residential summer camp at the University of Cambridge.

Here are the results achieved by our students in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Roentegenium Award 1 1 1* 1
Gold 5 N/A 5 1 3 3 4 5 4 4 5
Silver 2 N/A 4 4 4 4 7 9 3 5 4
Copper 3 1 N/A 2 4 3 4 9 6 11 4 7

*2019 Roentgenium students participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad in 2020, placing in the top 25 students in the world.

BRITISH BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD

The British Biology Olympiad consists of two one hour multiple choice papers designed to stimulate and challenge students with an interest in biology to expand their talents.

Here are the results achieved by our students in the British Biology Olympiad.

British Biology Olympiad – Round 1

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Gold 1 1 10 1
Silver 3 2 2 1 2 2 6 1 1 2
Bronze 2 3 3 3 1 13 1 1 2
Highly Commended 2 5 3 3 3 4 3 1 1
Commended 2 2 5 3 2 4