CURRICULUM// CHEMISTRY
SCIENCE WEEK
A HANDS-ON APPROACH TO
CELEBRATING SCIENCE
Another maths challenge, another
maths report but this one perhaps the
most dramatic to date.
The team’s rhythm had been disrupted
from the very start with Mrs Shand
burdened with other responsibilities,
the pivotal role of team manager fell on
the shoulders of Miss Bracken.
The journey down was a relaxed affair,
the brisk dawn peace interrupted only
by Bruce Springsteen strumming
through Miss Bracken’s car speakers
and the sleepy atmosphere of the
morning train disturbed only by the
rustle of scrap paper as the team worked
through practice questions. A facetime
call with Mrs Shand, who offered words
of advice and support and updates on
the baby, was much appreciated.
By the time the final relay around
arrived, blood sugar was running low
and while the team soldiered on, Nick
rattling through sums at breakneck
speed and Alfie sprinting across the hall
as fast as his suit trousers would let him,
the final score was not enough to elicit a
podium finish.
The drama was yet to finish. The
perilous journey back to the train
station via the London underground
had already been delayed by a slight
detour for food, so it needed to be
smooth. When we got to the platform,
a train was there, waiting, with its
doors invitingly open. We were quickly
hustled on to the tube carriage, but as
we were hurrying on, alarms started
blaring and the doors began to slide
quickly shut. Peter managed to squeeze
on as Tom’s head gallantly prized the
door open, but a floundering Alfie
was left reeling on the platform. Miss
Bracken’s heart was clearly pumping
fast as we left the tube station at King’s
cross while, what was left of the party,
desperately searched across a sea of
heads for the lost Alfie.
To everyone’s relief, he was eventually
recovered from the crowd of Londoners
and the team were able to catch their
return train home. While Pocklington
has achieved higher placed finishes, the
day was still a fantastic achievement by
the 1st IV, finishing 76th out of 1300
teams who started the competition,
coming in the top 6% of the country.
Walking away from the Royal
Horticultural Society Halls, the day
also held extra significance for Tom
and Peter, with a combined total of 7
national finals between the pair, this
was their last competition.
Many thanks to Miss Bracken who
accompanied the team down for the
day and to Mrs Shand who has coached
the team all year.
Peter Massey
The group round, that had been so easy
in the regional final, caught the team out
here. Heads were still on the train as the
questions were handed out and while a
valiant solo effort from Tom claimed
18 points, it still wasn’t enough for a
competitive score, the team achieving
only 24 out of the 60 possible marks.
There was a Himalayan sized mountain
to climb now, as the cross number round
came next. After a brief lunch break, the
team, reinvigorated, stormed through
the questions scoring a tremendous
59 out of 60.
Heads were in gear now as the team
moved onto the shuttle round, a
round which had proved a stern test
in the regionals. The first 2 questions
were answered by all with both speed
and accuracy enabling the team to
bag the elusive bonus points.
However, fatigue was gradually creeping
over the team and slip ups towards the
end of the round meant valuable points
dropped.
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
45