Grade boundaries revealed for annual Chemistry Olympiad 2021 competition

The Royal Society of Chemistry has released the 2021 grade boundaries for round one of the UK Chemistry Olympiad.

A graph showing Olympiad Round 1 Scores 2021

Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry

Students needed 17–24 marks for the Bronze award, 25–35 marks for the Silver award and 36+ for the Gold award

Marks required to secure each award have shifted slightly from last year, with students needing to score 17–24 marks for the Bronze award, 25–35 marks for the Silver award and 36 or more for the Gold award. Students’ scores are available from their teachers and certificates will be distributed in pdf form in March.

Due to the national lockdown, this year’s competition took place remotely on 22 January, with 7160 students from 666 schools sitting the paper at home – slightly less than last year’s 9000-strong cohort. 65% of students received one of the three awards, down slightly from last year’s 68%.

Education executive Chloe Francis, who organises the competition, extended her congratulations and thanks to both teachers and students for their participation: ‘Well done to all students who took part in this year’s Olympiad during a particularly stressful time, and thank you to all the teachers who took the time to facilitate this opportunity for their students during a national lockdown.’

A total of 36 students have been selected to go on to the second round, which will also be run remotely at the end of March. Four of these students will then go on to represent the UK in the final, international round – this year hosted by Japan from 24 July to 2 August.

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