RSC Belgium Top of the Bench 2019

Our annual 'international eliminator' for the Royal Society of Chemistry's Top of the Bench (TOTB) competition was held at the British School of Brussels (BSB) on Saturday 23 November 2019 with teams from Belgium and Luxembourg taking part. In total 12 teams from 6 schools participated. An exciting afternoon of chemical problem solving ended with the announcement of the 2019 winner of the Keith Price Cup: Team Sulfur from St George's School in Luxembourg. They will now represent RSC Belgium at the TOTB grand final in the UK in 2020.

The teams completed individual written question papers and then enjoyed a challenging team Practical Problem Solving Exercise. As usual both the 'hands-on' practical and the paper-based component were developed by our resident competition guru, Rita Woodward. The competition was designed to really test the teams’ chemistry knowledge and problem-solving abilities and encourage young talented chemical scientists to consider further education and careers in Chemistry.

The individual scores from the written paper were added together for each team with the placings from the practical session to give an overall score.

Members of the winning Sulfur team (pictured above) received our TOTB Keith Price Cup as well as some RSC goodies. All the student participants will receive a certificate.

Conkering foams

The practical component of the challenge was based around making and measuring 'foam'. Saponins are natural detergents found in many plants including the seeds of the horse chestnut tree - traditionally called ‘conkers’. Saponins contain both water soluble and fat soluble components and as a consequence form stable foams. 

The teams were asked to prepare a detergent extract from saponin present in conkers and then, in the shortest time produce a declared volume of chemical foam from a mixture of the liquid detergent, sodium hydrogen carbonate and lemon juice.

The judges were particularly impressed by the approach to and quality of the practical work this year and once again the outcome for the practical was very close with hardly anything between the teams. However, when taken with the performance on the written papers the Team Sulfur from St George’s International School was the clear winner.

Commenting on the practical competition, Rita Woodward said: "Overall I was impressed. It was very pleasing to see how well the teams worked together to make good use of the equipment and the time allowed."

Thank you

Our huge thanks to everyone involved in the 2019 TOTB challenge including our judges, staff at BSB and to all the teachers and other volunteers involved in preparing and organising the event.

The full list of participating teams for our 2019 competition was:

Magnesium - European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)

Silicon - European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)

Fluorine - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)

Chromium - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)

Lithium - International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)

Oxygen -  International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)

Nitrogen - British School of Brussels (Tervuren)

Calcium - British School of Brussels (Tervuren)

Bromine - European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)

Copper - European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)

Sulfur - St Georges International School (Luxembourg)

Vanadium - St Georges International School (Luxembourg)

The TOTB Finals will take place at the University of East London campus on Saturday 21 March 2020 and RSC Belgium will sponsor the travel arrangements for our winning team. The RSC Belgium team is usually the only competing school team not based in the British Isles.

Our next TOTB Eliminator Round will take place in Autumn 2020. Get your school involved!

2018 Belgium Top of The Bench results

Our annual 'international eliminator' for the Royal Society of Chemistry's Top of the Bench (ToTB) competition was held at the British School of Brussels (BSB) on Saturday 18 November 2017 with ten teams from six schools taking part. An exciting afternoon of chemical problem solving ended with the announcement of the 2017 winner of the Keith Price Cup: Team Selenium from BSB. They will now represent RSC Belgium at the TOTB grand final in the UK in 2018.

As ever our TOTB eliminator was a close run competition with only a few marks between the top four teams on the individual written quiz components and five out of the ten competing teams correctly classifying the three mystery solutions in our 'Can you tell your acid from your alkali' practical challenge.

Wining formula
The teams completed individual written question papers and then enjoyed a challenging team Practical Problem Solving Exercise. As usual both the 'hands-on' practical and the paper-based component were developed by our resident competition guru, Rita Woodward. The competition was designed to really test the teams’ chemistry knowledge and problem-solving abilities and (hopefully) encourage young talented chemical scientists to consider further education and careers in Chemistry.

The individual scores from the written paper were added together for each team with the placings from the practical to give an overall score with BSB team Selenium coming out on top just a head of Team Vanadium from St. Johns International School (St John’s) in second place and Team Strontium from European School Brussels 2 (EEB 2).

Members of the winning team (pictured below with Rita) each received a RSC heat sensitive mug and the school will hold the TOTB Keith Price Cup during 2018. All the student participants will receive a certificate.

Our huge thanks to all the teachers and other volunteers involved to prepare and organise the event, in particular William Darnley and Luke Stagno Navarra from BSB, and, of course, Rita.

The full line up of participating teams for the 2018 competition was:

Cadmium - British School of Brussels (Tervuren)
Calcium - International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)
Krypton - International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)
Mercury - European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)
Nickel - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)
Rubidium - European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)
Selenium - British School of Brussels (Tervuren)
Strontium - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)
Tellurium - European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)
Vanadium - St Johns International School (Waterloo)

The TOTB Finals will take place in the UK on Saturday 3 March 2018 at Birmingham University (TBC) and RSC sponsors the travel arrangements for our winning team. The RSC Belgium team is usually the only competing school team not based in the British Isles.

Our next TOTB Eliminator Round will take place in Q4 2018. Get your school involved!

St. George's retain the Keith Price Cup

The results of the RSC Belgium Top of the Bench (ToTB) eliminator for 2016 have been confirmed and the winners announced. And the winner of the Keith Price Cup (pictured right) for 2016 - and the Belgian representative in the TOTB grand final in the UK in 2017 - will be team Vanadium from St. George's International School in Luxembourg! St. George’s made a winning debut in the competition last year and now retain the cup for 2017. 

We were unable to hold our usual practical Saturday event in 2015, due to the Brussels security lock down, so it was a great relief to get back to normal on 3 December and welcome 11 eager teams from six schools to the chemistry labs at the British School of Brussels (BSB) for our ToTB ‘international’ eliminator.

The teams completed individual written question papers and then enjoyed a challenging team Practical Problem Solving Exercise. As usual both the 'hands-on' practical and the paper-based component were developed by our resident competition guru, Rita Woodward. The competition was designed to really test the teams’ chemistry knowledge and problem-solving abilities and (hopefully) encourage young talented chemical scientists to consider further education and careers in Chemistry.

Winners
The individual scores from the written paper were added together for each team with the placings from the practical to give an overall score. And for the second year in a row a team from St. George’s won out- the Vanadium team. Members of the winning team (pictured below) each received a RSC heat sensitive mug and the school will hold the TOTB Keith Price Cup during 2017.

Two teams were joint runners up: the Scandium team from BSB and a second team (Gallium) from St. George’s with members receiving a RSC phone battery charger. Every student that took part in the competition received a certificate.

 The two teams from St George's are pictured above with the Keith Price Cup, their prizes and certificates. 

Full results

As ever, the RSC Belgium ToTB eliminator was a close-fought competition with a total of 11 teams from six schools taking part.

The full line up of participating teams for the 2015 competition is listed below:

• Actinium – European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)
• Copper – International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)
• Francium – British School of Brussels (Tervuren)
• Gallium – St. George’s International School (Luxembourg)
• Radium – European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)
• Scandium – British School of Brussels (Tervuren)
• Titanium – European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)
• Uranium – International School of Flanders (Rhode St Genese)
• Vanadium - St. George’s International School (Luxembourg)
• Xenon - European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)
• Zinc – European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)

The TOTB Finals will take place in Loughborough in the UK during Spring 2017 and RSC sponsors the travel arrangements for our winning team. The RSC Belgium team is usually the only competing school team not based in the British Isles. 

St. George's Hydrogen team had a great time at the 2016 finals so we wish good luck to the Vanadium team from St. George’s in 2017! Our next TOTB Eliminator Round will take place in Q4 2017.

2016 Chemistry Challenge Winners announced

The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2016 have been announced and the talented prize winners picked up their winnings at a special RSC Belgium event with Dr Jack Heal of Bristol University on the evening of 27 October at the British School of Brussels (BSB). This year we received 103 eligible entries from international and European schools in Brussels and beyond for this testing challenge of young people's chemical knowledge and initiative.

The RSC Belgium Chemical Challenge has three sections:

• A/ A chemistry multiple choice paper
• B/ A structured questions on chemistry, and
• C/ A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based

And the top results were as follows:

Section A: Multiple choice

First was Evan Dastin-Vanrijn from St. John’s International school (St. Johns). Joint second were Pratyusha Sahah of the British School of Brussels (BSB), Dominic Gray of St.John’s, Imogen Rivers from the European School Brussels I (EEBI) and Soham Sinha for the International School of Brussels (ISB). Joint third place was awarded to Akari Izumi and Alice Martin both from St.John’s.

Section B: Structured Questions

In this section first prize was awarded to Mattijs De Paepe of BSB with Pratyusha Saha from BSB, Caifang Du from UWC Maastricht (UWC) and Soham Sinha of ISB in joint second place. Third place was claimed by Evan Dastin-Vanrijn of St.John’s. 

Section C: Thinking Matters

Here joint first place was awarded to Gregor McAlpine and Jasper Parsons both from BSB with Griffin Sharry also of BSB in second place and Caspar Kenny of St John’s in third.

Keith Price Prize

Mattijs De Paepe of BSB, pictured below with RSC Belgium chairman Tim Reynolds, also received the Keith Price Prize for best overall score in the chemistry focused sections (A and B). First prize winners received €50, second €25 and third places €10 with the winner of the Keith Price Prize receiving an additional €100.

Well done to everyone that took part! Every student that entered the competition receives a certificate of participation. We will be running the Challenge again in 2017. And look out for our Top of the Bench International eliminator that will be held on 3 December this year at BSB!

“Colour is Fun” brightens up Brussels

In the first week of March, RSC Belgium organised for Andrew Hanson from the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, U.K. to tour a number of schools and give a public presentation of his well-known lecture “Colour is Fun”. Andrew visited the European School Brussels II at Woluwe, St. John’s International School in Waterloo, the European School Brussels III at Ixelles, the British School of Brussels at Tervuren and the International School of Flanders (ISF) in Sint-Genesius-Rode, and gave an evening public presentation at the Université Catholique de Louvain’s Woluwe campus in Brussels on 2 March. At each location the lecture met with an enthusiastic reception from the audience, staff and pupils.

Andrew is Outreach Manager and Senior Research Scientist at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's National Measurement Institute, and a world-leading centre of excellence in developing and applying the most accurate measurement standards available. For over 25 years he has been professionally measuring colour there, from evaluating the appearance of ornamental plants, to building the world’s first national standards telespectroradiometer to calibrate the colour of visual display units and a machine to measure the shininess of cats!

Colour measurement
His lecture tour brightened up a grey week at the end of winter for his audiences with its many colourful and animated slides. The lecture showed how colours are formed by splitting white light into the different wavelengths which we see as colour, how these are absorbed or reflected by the materials we see and the mechanism by which the eye transmits colour messages to the brain.

Equipment for colour measurement was described and how this enabled the definition of any particular colour, important for quality control in many different areas. Several demonstrations revealed how the eye can retain a reverse colour image when the image is removed – Andrew ‘magiced’ the Belgian flag from white, indigo and duck egg blue stripes. Drawing attention to how our perception of colour is determined by the surroundings of that colour, by the end of the lecture the audience was convinced that what had appeared to be four distinctly different colours at the start were in fact the same.

Whilst Andrew is a physicist, his lecture also highlighted the role of chemistry in determining the colour of materials, and in the development of new dyestuffs and colours.

Shiny cats! 
And, yes, there was an image of a shiny cat! And do not be surprised if the next lecture makes reference to the colour of the Belgian chocolate which Andrew took home with him…
In total, the Andrew’s lectures were enjoyed by over 600 students, staff and members of the public. ISF have reported the event on their Facebook page.

We have to thank the NPL for making Andrew’s time available to conduct this lecture tour, and the staff members at the schools who organised the event on the ground.

RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2015 Results

The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2015 have been announced and the talented prize winners picked up their winnings at a special RSC Belgium event with Prof Peter Atkins of Oxford University on the evening of 20 October at the British School of Brussels. This year we received 119 eligible entries from several international and European schools in this testing challenge of young people's chemical knowledge and initiative.

The RSC Belgium Chemical Challenge has three sections:

• A/ A chemistry multiple choice paper
• B/ A structured questions on chemistry, and
• C/ A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based

And the top results were as follows:

Section A: Multiple choice
First was Jozef Ceri Rees from the British School of Brussels (BSB)
Joint second were Ivet Andres Munoz also from BSB and Franziska Ihli from European School Brussels 3 at Ixelles (EEB3)
And third prize went to Yoonkwon Yi from the International School of Brussels (ISB).

The winners in this section are pictured below together with RSC Belgium chairman Tim Reynolds.

Section B: Structured Questions
First was Ivet Andres Munoz from BSB.
Joint second were Changfu Sun and Yoonkwon Yi bith from ISB
And six students tied for third place: Leyla Jackson from BSB, Benjamin Keltjens and Conor O'Flaherty from BSB, Thomas Maher from St Johns International School Waterloo (St. Johns), Willak Kamil from European School Brussels 1 at Uccle (EEB1), and Jonas Papazoglou-Hennig from EEB3

Section C: Thinking Matters
Joint first were Utkarsh Saxena of ISB and Laura Molnar from EEB1.
Three students tied for second place: Zachary Arnolds from St. Johns and Veronika Mrazek and Greta Carpenter both from EEB3.
Joint third were Sam Craig from ISB and Bilaal Ahmad from St. Johns.

Keith Price Prize
Ivet Andres Munoz from also received the Keith Price Prize for best overall score in sections A and B. First prize winners received €50, second €25 and third places €10 with the winner of the Keith Price Prize receiving an additional €100.

Well done to everyone that took part! Every student that entered the competition receives a certificate of participation. We will be running the Challenge again in 2015. And look out for our Top of the Bench International eliminator coming soon! All the students who collected their prizes at the 20 October event are pictured below.

The Challenge
The Chemistry Challenge competition was devised and compiled by RSC Belgium treasurer Rita Woodward and is open to students from any school in Belgium. The questions are set in English, but may be answered in English, French, Dutch or German.

The competition is open to school students in their penultimate year of High School (usually aged 16 – 17), and consists of a 2 hour written test held in school and designed to demonstrate the participants’ knowledge of chemistry and their ability to think logically.

Fantastic Plastic! Fantastic Success!

In the last week of February RSC Belgium organised a demo lecture tour of schools and a public lecture with Prof Dr Averil Macdonald emerita professor at Reading University and her famous 'Fantastic Plastic' lecture. The tour visited five schools: the European Schools at Mol, Brussels Laeken, Brussels Woluwe and Brussels Ixelles, and the British School of Brussels -  where we also held a public lecture on the evening of 26 February.

The lectures were a fantastic success with a total audience approaching 1000 students, RSC Belgium members and friends. Feedback from teachers at all the schools venues indicated that the lecture had certainly made an impact on the audiences and moved many to think more seriously about their future options for a science career.

Prof Macdonald (below) is Professor of Science Engagement at the University of Reading and is also a leading advocate for encouraging young women to get interested in science and engineering and seek science-based careers. Amongst many other roles she is a Trustee of the London Science Museum and chairs the UK Expert Group for Women in Science.

She has recently published a report on the issues around encouraging women into science, technology and engineering (STEM) - and why the current messaging is not right. Most girls decide that jobs and careers in science are “not for people like me”. The report shows why STEM outreach and engagement activities have a limited impact on girls and other young people who are under-represented in the STEM workforce and recommends a fresh approach.

You can download the report here.

Top lecture
Prof Macdonald's lecture explores the links between Lego™ blocks, zero pollution cars, disposable nappies, liquids that flow up hill, and false legs! She also shows how this links with the perfect recipe for slime - and shows how science and innovation can be used to make you a Millionaire!

Prof Macdonald's lecture gives a brief overview of the great variety of physical properties of plastics that make them suitable for various intriguing and surprising applications. She then introduces the concept of polymers consisting of long chain molecules, their ability to exist as solid and liquids and their ability to exhibit the properties of both (as in slime).

Lively demonstrations show the effects of increasing temperature, cross linking molecules, "tangling up" the polymer chains, and dissolving them in liquids. Some examples are given to show how by controlling what happens at the molecular level, the characteristics of the final material are determined. Averil focuses as much on enterprise and business opportunities as she does on the chemistry and properties of polymer molecules with plenty of interest for both budding engineers and entrepreneurs! And our audiences clearly loved it!

Big thanks
As well as huge thanks to all the schools, RSC Belgium acknowledges the invaluable help and expertise of Fabio Lucaccioni and Istvan Marko from Univerisite Catholique de Louvain in procuring and preparing the chemicals used in the lecture tour, the staff of the chemistry department at BSB for providing glassware and other vital equipment, and a special thank-you to our own Dr Ian Carson who took on the lion's share of organising and facilitating this very successful venture.

First Time Team wins TOTB Thriller

RSC Belgium held its annual eliminator heat for the RSC Top of the Bench (TOTB) competition on Saturday 15 November at the British School of Brussels (BSB). In a close finish the Bromine team from the European School in Laeken claimed the Keith Price Cup in their first ever entry in the competition. The team will also represent RSC Belgium in the 2015 final in the UK!

This was the fourth time that the RSC Belgium's TOTB eliminator has been held as an actual 'head-to-head' competition with a practical element. This format is a clear ‘hit’ with both the students and teachers who take part.

As ever it was a hard-fought struggle between a total of 12 teams from six schools including two teams from the new European School Brussels IV based in Laeken.

The full team line up was as follows:

• Lithium - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)
• Fluorine - European School Brussels 2 (Woluwe)
• Gallium - European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)
• Sodium – European School Brussels 3 (Ixelles)
• Magnesium – British School of Brussels
• Hydrogen – British School of Brussels
• Nitrogen – SHAPE International School
• Carbon – SHAPE International School
• Tungsten – International School of Flanders
• Oxygen – International School of Flanders
• Argon – European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)
• Bromine – European School Brussels 4 (Laeken)

Juicy problems
The twelve teams of budding chemists had to complete a short written test on their individual chemical knowledge and data interpretation skills and then show teamwork and problem-solving abilities in a practical chemical exercise.

This year the teams were set the task of producing electrical power from fruit! A selection of fruit and a variety of metals and other lab equipment were provided for each team and they were asked to produce a 'battery' that gave a reproducible voltage of 5.0 volts using the least number of fruit 'cells' and no more than three different fruit varieties.

The challenge provided a range of responses, but all the teams got there in the end! Teams were judged on their approach to the problem, teamwork, the quality of the recording of their work and the accuracy and precision of their observations.

The format of our TOTB event closely reflects the format of the competition that the winners will face in the actual RSC–run final in the UK. As usual Rita Woodward devised this cunning competition and set the questions.

Close competition
All twelve teams consisted of four students aged 14 - 16 and were accompanied by teachers. When teams had worked out their own solution, their efforts were assessed by judges from RSC Belgium: Dr. Ian Carson, Dr Becki Scott, and Rita Woodward (who also set the tasks for the TOTB). We were also greatly assisted by three postgraduate students from KU Leuven - Kim Eekelers, Niels Hulsbosch and Sofie Hollanders - who volunteered to help out with supervision and judging.

The overall winners were determined by their team placings in both written and practical parts of the 'eliminator'.

The final result was very tight with the winners being the the Bromine team from Laeken, with runners up being the Argon team also from Laeken and the Gallium from the European School Brussels III in Ixelles. The winning team is pictured above having been presented with the Keith Price Cup by branch treasurer and chief problem-setter Rita Woodward. The Bromine team with their teacher Mary Jaeger are are pictured below. The team will now represent Belgium in the (inter)national final in the UK in Spring 2015.

All the students taking part in our Top of the Bench competition receive certificates of participation.

Clearly everyone who took part in the competition had a very enjoyable time with both students and teachers very enthusiastic about this competitive format. The top three teams are pictured below. Our thanks to all the teachers, technical staff and students (see below) who took part in a really fun afternoon of chemistry! #chemistryisfun.

You can find more information on RSC school competitions and activities here.

Chemistry Challenge 2014 Winners Announced

The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2014 have been announced and the talented prize winners will be picking up their winnings at a special RSC Belgium event on 02 October at the British School of Brussels from 19:30. This year we received 110 eligible entries from eight international schools in this testing challenge of young people's chemical knowledge and initiative.

The RSC Belgium Chemical Challenge has three sections:

• A/ A chemistry multiple choice paper
• B/ A structured questions on chemistry, and
• C/ A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based

And the top results were as follows:

Section A: Multiple choice
First was Charles Wackwitz of the International School of Brussels (ISB).
Joint second were John Eade of the British School of Brussels (BSB) and Alexander Van Tuyll of the European School at Mol (Mol).
And three students tied for third prize: Bram Den Dekker and Pierre-Emmanuel Grimm of ISB and Juan Attard of the European School Brussels 1 at Uccle (EEB1).

Section B: Structured Questions
First was Joe Hawkins of St Johns International School Waterloo (St. Johns).
Second was John Eade of BSB.
Third prize was claimed by four students: Lion Seiffert of the European School Brussels 3 at Ixelles (EEB3), and Bram Den Dekker, Sinan Akosman and Charlie De Backer of ISB.

Section C: Thinking Matters
First was Emily Croasdale (BSB).
Joint second were Julia Clarke and Jamie Burnett (both EEB3).
Joint third were Catalina Poraicu and Juan Attard both at EEB1.

Keith Price Prize
John Eade of BSB also receives the Keith Price Prize for best overall score in sections A and B. First prize winners recieve €50, second €25 and third places €10 with the winner of the Keith Price Prize receiving an additional €100.

Well done to everyone that took part! Every student that entered the competition receives a certificate of participation. We will be running the Challenge again in 2015. And look out for our Top of the Bench International eliminator coming soon!

The Challenge
The Chemistry Challenge competition was devised and compiled by RSC Belgium treasurer Rita Woodward and is open to students from any school in Belgium. The questions are set in English, but may be answered in English, French, Dutch or German.

The competition is open to school students in their penultimate year of High School (usually aged 16 – 17), and consists of a 2 hour written test held in school and designed to demonstrate the participants’ knowledge of chemistry and their ability to think logically.

Award event: Origins and evolution
The Chemistry Challenge prizes will be handed out to the winners prior to our next evening lecture event with Dr. Nick Lane on the Origin and Evolution of Life.

Nick Lane is an evolutionary biochemist and writer in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London (UCL). He was awarded the inaugural UCL Provost's Venture Research Prize for his research on evolutionary biochemistry and bioenergetics and his current work focuses on the origin of life, and the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. He was a founding member of the UCL Consortium for Mitochondrial Research, and leads the UCL Research Frontiers Origins of Life programme.

Prizes, Metals and Metabolism

RSC Belgium opened its Autumn 2013 programme on 19 September at the British School of Brussels with a prize giving ceremony for the winners of the section's Chemistry Challenge 2013 competition . The ceremony was followed by a lecture from section chairman Prof. Bob Crichton on biological inorganic chemistry.

Well over 70 members and friends of the section attended and applauded the winners of the Chemistry Challenge in BSB's Brel theatre. To achieve top marks in the challenge, set by RSC Belgium Treasurer and former BSB teacher Rita Woodward,  needed exceptional knowledge of chemistry and a sharp mind.

The Chemical Challenge has three sections:  a chemistry multiple choice paper, a structured questions on chemistry, and a 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based. 

Multiple choice
In the multiple choice section joint first were Jeannine Heetmeyer and Nathan Boydell of the European School Brussels 3 at Ixelles (EEB3). Joint second were Tim Overeem, Owen Tyers and Hangkuon Yi of the International School of Brussels (ISB) with Camila Nagoda of the European School Brussels 1 at Uccle (EEB1) and third was Kazuma Matsumoto of the British School of Brussels (BSB).

The prize winners able to be at BSB on 19 September are pictured below with Section Chairman Prof. Bob Crichton:

Structured Questions
In this very tough part of the Challenge first was Tim Overeem of ISB, with Ryan Moore of St John's International School Waterloo (St Johns) in second and third was was Patricia Martin (St Johns).

The three prize winners are pictured below with Prof. Crichton.

Thinking Matters
Our third section gives the non-chemists a chance but the questions are not easy and require some lateral thinking! In this section first prize went to Sofie Thiel (EEB3) with joint second prizes to Patricia Martin (St Johns) and Wendelin Lutz (EEB3) with Caitriona Murphy of the European School Brussels 2 at Woluwe (EEB2) in second place.

The prize winners able to be at BSB on 19 September are pictured below with Section Chairman Prof. Bob Crichton:

Keith Prize Prize
Tim Overeem of ISB (pictured below right) also received the Keith Price Prize from Bob Crichton for best overall score in sections A and B. First prize winners receive €50, second €25 and third places €10 with the winner of the Keith Price Prize receiving an additional €100. Who says chemistry can't make you rich!

Well done to all the students who participated in 2013 and to their teachers who supervised the Challenge at each of the schools. We will be running the Challenge again in 2014.

Whistle-stop tour
Biological inorganic chemistry is key to understanding almost all of the complex chemical processes underpinning biology and therefore our health. Following the prizes Prof Bob Crichton took his audience on a whistle-stop tour of the two dozen or so main metal ions that have a major role in metabolism.

The metals often have a complex role in the chemical processes that underpin life and recent discoveries that metal ions, such as zinc and copper, play a direct role in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and BSE has created renewed interest in their role in biology.

Bob’s talk was largely based on the recently published second edition of his textbook: Biological Inorganic Chemistry. This revised and expanded second edition was the winner of a 2013 Texty Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association.

Further pictures
The event was followed by the usual question and answer session and an informal networking drinks reception.

The BSB photographer was present throughout the ceremony and lecture and there is an excellent gallery of photos from the 19 September event available on the BSB Flickr website.

2013 Chemistry Challenge Winners Announced

The results of the RSC Belgium Chemistry Challenge 2013 have just been announced and the talented prize winners will be picking up their winnings at a special RSC Belgium event on 19 September at BSB starting at 19:30. This year we received 85 eligible entries from seven international schools in this testing challenge of young people's chemical knowledge and initiative.

The RSC Belgium Chemical Challenge has three sections:

• A chemistry multiple choice paper
• A structured questions on chemistry, and
• A 'Thinking Matters' paper that is not chemistry based

And the top results were as follows:

Section A: Multiple choice

• Joint first were Jeannine Heetmeyer and Nathan Boydell of the European School Brussels 3 at Ixelles (EEB3) 
• Joint second were Tim Overeem, Owen Tyers and Hangkuon Yi of the International School of Brussels (ISB) with Camila Nagoda of the European School Brussels 1 at Uccle (EEB1)
• Third was Kazuma Matsumoto of the British School of Brussels (BSB)

Section B: Structured Questions

• First was Tim Overeem of ISB
• Second was Ryan Moore of St John's International School Waterloo (St Johns)
• Third was Patricia Martin (St Johns)

Section C: Thinking Matters

• First was Sofie Thiel (EEB3)
• Joint second were Patricia Martin (St Johns) and Wendelin Lutz (EEB3)
• Third was Caitriona Murphy of the European School Brussels 2 at Woluwe (EEB2)

Tim Overeem of ISB also receives the Keith Price Prize for best overall score in sections A and B. First prize winners recieve €50, second €25 and third places €10 with the winner of the Keith Price Prize receiving an additional €100.

Well done to everyone that took part! We will be running the Challenge again in 2014.

Challenge
The Chemistry Challenge competition was devised and compiled by RSC Belgium treasurer Rita Woodward and is open to students from any school in Belgium. The questions are set in English, but may be answered in English, French, Dutch or German.

The competition is open to school students in their penultimate year of High School (usually aged 16 – 17), and consists of a 2 hour written test held in school and designed to demonstrate the participants’ knowledge of chemistry and their ability to think logically.