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STEM 5
A Level Biology Live!
Amrita Bhattacharyya, L6N and Aksaan Arif, L6S
On Friday 18 January, nineteen students and two
teachers, Mrs Hampson and Mrs Carter, went to the ‘A
Level Biology Live!’ event. The lectures, which were
about key issues facing biologists and scientists, were
fascinating, and enlightened us.
Amrita writes, “My favourite lecture was by Professor Robert
Winston, who skilfully engaged us in his talk about evolutionary
genetics. He talked about humans’ tendency to modify their
evolution, and how, disturbingly, this tended to lead to skewed
thoughts about the superiority of certain races. The theory of
‘eugenics’ was born in the 19th century, in the brain of Francis
Galton. This theory was very much supported by the members of the
German Reich, and, more jarringly, by respected statesmen such as
Roosevelt. On a much lighter note, he captivated the audience with
the story of his ground- breaking research on in vitro fertilization
and the subsequent possibilities that this can lead to, such as the
eradication of diseases which now plague us.
Other speakers included: Dr Adam Rutherford who regaled us
about the ancestry and family trees of royalty, Professor Sarah-
Jane Blakemore, who talked about her enduring research into the
adolescent brain, and Dr Ben Goldacre whose sudden shouts never
ceased to surprise us, and who discussed the web of lies of the MMR
hoax.”
“My favourite speaker from A-Level Biology Live,” according to
Aksaan, “had to be Dr. Adam Rutherford. His lecture, titled “A Brief
History of Everyone Who Ever Lived,” clearly showed me how far
we have come in terms of understanding, reading, and translating
DNA. In a series of engrossing steps, Rutherford described to us how
DNA was extracted from the bones of the late King Richard III to
identify him when his remains were found in a car park in Leicester.
He also did some spectacular calculations to prove mathematically
and genetically that for every human on the planet, our common
ancestor comes from around the 15th century. He said,“DNA is the
saga of how we came to be who we are today”, and “only now are
we re-painting the picture of the human story.” Of all historical texts
available to us, Rutherford has clearly proved to me that none is
richer than the historical text we carry in every cell.”
Senior Maths Challenge
On Wednesday 28 November, the Bancroft’s team of Alex Yan, Swasthi Surendran and Sonya Kalsi (all L6) with
Soumya Krishna-Kumar (U6) as their captain took part in the regional heats of the UK Maths Trust’s Senior Team
Maths Challenge held at Queen Mary University of London. They faced a large, competitive and strong field
of thirty six other schools, including St Paul’s Girls and James Allen Girls, and the mathematical calibre of the
competitors was very high.
The Challenge consists of three rounds: the group round where the team works together on questions; cross-number where the team
is split into pairs and solves the puzzle using clues and, finally, a shuttle round where the team works in pairs passing answers back and
forth. The Bancroft’s team had an extremely strong start, obtaining perfect scores in the first two rounds. In the final round they held
onto their 100% record right up until the final five minutes, but their past performance in the Challenge meant they had already done
enough to win.
The Challenge provides fantastic enrichment opportunities for the finest young mathematicians nationwide, helping them to develop
their teamwork skills whilst being challenged and stimulated by the great range of mathematical problems set. The materials are
produced by the UKMT (UK Maths Trust), with the AMSP (Advanced Maths Support Programme) also assisting with the running of the
events.
Despite not expecting to
win, the Bancroft’s four
were elated when they
were announced as the
winners. This is the first
time for several years
that a Bancroft’s team has
won a regional heat in the
Senior Team Challenge
and they are now looking
forward to the national
final which will be held
at the Royal Horticultural
Hall in Central London in
February. The winners from
each of the regional heats
around the UK compete for
the national trophy.