News, Pre-GCSE Inspire

Year 10 Class 5: Competition results

Posted by St John's College Access on

We’re delighted to announce the winners of the first set of Pre-GCSE Inspire competitions for 2021! Class 5, Evolution and Volcanoes in review, was a little different from previous classes: we looked back at some of the topics we’ve covered over our last two themes stretching back to the summer school – ‘What is the power of a volcano?’ and ‘Why does evolution matter?’. Our challenges were a little different too: over the winter break, we decided to set something more practical, more hands-on, as you were invited to make your own volcano, and create your own organism! We had some extremely impressive, creative entries, and it was clear that many of our Year 10s put huge effort into getting their hands dirty (sometimes literally!) with these competitions. Judging the entries was a very hard task!

Congratulations to the winners of Class 5 competitions:

  • Adchaya
  • Maryam
  • Sivad
  • Thenusha

Each of you have won an Amazon voucher. This will be sent to the email address you provided in your competition cover sheet; please get in touch with us at inspire@sjc.ox.ac.uk if you haven’t received yours by the end of the week.

Competition 9: Make your own volcano

Watch the video linked below from the Natural History Museum, which shows you how to make your own volcano using household items that you probably have sitting around at home. Then follow the recipe on the website, and record a short video of your volcanic eruption (maximum 2 minutes).

First place: Thenusha, Ealing

Second place: Adchaya, Ealing

Finalists:

  • Aditi, Harrow
  • Georgie, Ealing
  • Julia, Harrow

Competition 10: Create your own organism

Watch the video below about the Avalon explosion, a rapid diversification of life which occurred around 575 million years ago. The fossil record shows that during this era, unusual multicellular organisms appeared – some of which are nothing like anything alive today! Select one of the Avalon organisms described, and build a model of the organism out of recyclable materials.

First place: Sivad, Ealing

Second place: Maryam, Ealing

Finalists:

  • Adchaya, Ealing
  • Hemdeep, Ealing
  • Morgan, Harrow

Remember: the deadline for Class 6’s competitions is 5pm Wednesday, 3 February 2021. In this class, we are looking at ‘evolution as metaphor’, in literature and the arts. We look forward to receiving your entries!