The Biology Challenge, run by the Royal Society of Biology stimulates curiosity for the natural world and encourages students to take an interest in Biology above and beyond what is covered in the classroom.
In preparation for the competition, every week pupils have the opportunity to attend the weekly Biology Challenge Club, led by Mrs Haworth. Pupils have looked at a range of topics from exploring the trails faced by different groups of predators to ensure their survival to exploring early projects by Sir David Attenborough, as part of his 100th birthday celebrations. They have also been engaging with the biodiversity of the British Isles, learning more about our wide range of habitats and native species of insect, bird and mammal.
The competition consists of two exam papers, taken online in May 2026, under exam conditions.
This is the fifth year that Mount Carmel has competed in the competition and 342 pupils from years 7-10 entered the competition, facilitated by their Science teachers.
From past experience, pupils who have performed well in this competition have gone onto achieve the highest grades at GCSE and then on to study a range of University Degrees, including Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, Medicine at the University of Oxford and Law at the University of Durham.
This year we are very pleased to announce a number of Mount Carmel pupils who have achieved Silver and Bronze awards for their performance in the competition.
Congratulations to Mahdiya and Murtaza who were awarded a Silver medal, reflecting their achievement of scoring in the top 15 % of the 42,000 pupils worldwide who competed in the event. They scored 89% and 86% respectively. Nael, Julian, Saif and Leon scored over 83% to gain Bronze medals.
