As Year 12 students across the country start thinking about their future plans, Newstead Wood students Lauren Barton and Amy Cameron have teamed up to deepen their understanding of Biology in the Cambridge Biology Challenge. 

Run by Homerton College, the Cambridge Biology Challenge was launched for the first time this January. Budding biologists from across the country have the opportunity to submit posters, podcasts, or essays on the topic of each round, with a new one being released every three weeks. 

Lauren and Amy both take Biology A-Level as one of their four subjects at Newstead Wood School and hope to continue studying the science at university. This makes the challenge particularly useful to them as the questions are written in a similar style to Oxbridge interview questions, which Lauren has described as being “more open ended, needing a mix of opinions and reaching a justified conclusion on the topic” 

It is intriguing to consider silly concepts and use real biology to explain them.” 

The topics in the challenge have been very thought-provoking so far; round 1 asked the students to explore why animals do not have wheels, while the current round questions whether humans have finished evolving. 

The whimsical nature of these questions is what has drawn the pair into the challenge, with Lauren enjoying that it “gets you thinking about uncertain concepts” and Amy stating that the challenge “makes it intriguing to consider silly concepts and use real biology to explain them.” 

“It's important ... to consider why things haven't happened as well as why they have”

Amy takes a personal approach to the subject, explaining that “I enjoy learning about how my own body is working, while that same process is happening to me in that moment.” She has used this challenge as an opportunity for wider reading and has based some of her research on studies on the epigenetic effect of the mother's diet during pregnancy on child's weight. 

Having also chosen Geography, Amy has developed a deep appreciation for “the biological complexities created by evolution” so is very keen to further explore her interests while researching the current round’s question.  

With the challenge providing few limitations on how students explore the topics, Amy is able “to consider why things haven't happened as well as why they have,” mentioning how the pair used scientific diagrams to prove the inefficiency of animals using wheels instead of limbs. 

“I enjoy ... making my own decision having taken all our research and wider reading into account”

Lauren finds the “real-life applications interesting” and has been enthusiastic about researching alternative lines of reasoning to answer the challenge’s questions. She values “making my own decision having taken all our research and wider reading into account” as this skill will be useful in the upcoming university entrance interviews which she will take at the start of the next academic year. 

Also running the Newstead Wood Biology Journal, Lauren dedicates a significant portion of her studies to encouraging like-minded biologists at her school to expand their passion for the subject.