During the April holidays, I had the opportunity to attend the Chemistry Olympiad training camp at Tibbs House, Auckland Grammar School.

The Chemistry Olympiad is an international competition for teams of four high school students representing different countries. This year, it will be held in Saudi Arabia in July. There are three rounds for the selection of the New Zealand team, and students who perform well in the second round attend a one-week-long training camp. At the end of the camp, there is a practical exam and a theory exam, from which the results are used to select the final team of four.

Throughout the week, we had lectures and lab sessions from different professors during the day at the University of Auckland or St. Peter’s College and problem sessions after dinner. Being one of the 32 students selected for the camp has allowed me to learn many things that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to come across at school. I hope that more students at Westlake Girls, especially those in year 11 or 12, will also give Chemistry Olympiad a go to extend themselves in chemistry as it was truly an invaluable experience for me.

I attended the training camp and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Throughout the week, we had lectures and lab sessions during the day at University of Auckland or St. Peter’s College and problem sessions or a quiz night after dinner. I’ve learned so many things, and I am so grateful for this opportunity, and to Ms Jun, who who oversaw the Chemistry Olympiad at our school.

I would like more students, especially Juniors, to know about this chance to extend themselves in chemistry as it was a really valuable experience for me.

I hope that this year there will also be some successful students who get into Round Two or the camp in 2025! If the current year 12’s have any questions about what the exams for both rounds are like, or the Chemistry Olympiad in general, I’m happy to answer them.

By Emily Chen, 13 OWD