Since joining Blundell’s in Year 9, Harry’s academic achievements have gone from strength to strength. He quickly made himself known as a talented mathematician with a gift for the sciences and an aptitude for hard work. These attributes, alongside the excellent support the school has given him, have made him very successful on a national academic level over the last two years.
Whilst in Year 12, he scored 100% in the Senior Maths Challenge and qualified for Round 1 and then Round 2 of the Senior Maths Olympiad. In Round 2 he placed in the top 20 in the UK for his score. He took a short break from math to take second place in the Bebras Computational Thinking senior final, held at Oxford University. At this time, he also achieved a Gold Award in Round 1 of the Chemistry Olympiad and qualified for the selection camp for the UK International Chemistry Olympiad team. He did so well in the final exam he was selected as a reserve.
He also achieved Golds in Round 1 and 2 of the Physics Olympiad, which put him in the top 50 pupils nationwide. He was invited to take part in the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad where his score qualified him for the final training camp. After a tough on-line camp, he was selected as the only Year 12 pupil for the team of 4 to represent the UK in the International Astronomy Olympiad. He studied hard over the summer holidays during lockdown ready for the competition in September. After the results were published Harry discovered that he had been awarded a silver medal. Out of 260 people from over 50 countries from around the world, the top 10% get a gold medal and the next 15% a silver. He estimates from his score that he came around 40th in the world. The UK team notched up their best ever performance in a Physics based Olympiad with 2 Golds, 2 Silvers and a Bronze.
While in Year 13, Harry repeated his Golds in the Senior Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy Olympiads and was selected to attend the Physics and Chemistry training camps. He was offered the chance to be in both the UK Chemistry and Physics Olympiad teams. He chose Chemistry, and spent the summer learning several textbooks’ worth of information, as well as having online lectures with University professors. In the competition, held in Warwick University in July, he won a Gold Medal, placing him in the top 10% of competitors from around the world. The UK team matched their best ever performance with 2 Golds and a Silver Award.
Alongside his studies, this modest and unassuming young man throws himself into all the activities a school like Blundell’s offers; he is a school Monitor, won the famous Blundell’s cross country race “The Russell” last year whilst in Year 12, and is a regional level swimmer.
Quote from Harry: "I really enjoyed the opportunity to stretch myself beyond the usual school curriculum in an area of science in which I am interested. It was a great challenge, and I was really well supported by the school in encouraging me to fulfil my dream of representing the UK in these academic competitions.”