On Friday 13th June, Howell’s hosted a Chemistry Challenge Day which saw four of our Year 9 girls competing against teams from two other schools in practical and thinking skills activities. In a very close first round, tasked with producing a neutral solution, our girls managed a pH of 6.5, extremely close to the magic number of 7, but just beaten by St Cyres’s 6.6. The Howell’s team stormed ahead in the second practical round, identifying 26 chemicals, with the next closest team only managing 15, but St Cyres made a comeback in the third and final round scoring 11 bonus points to push Howell’s into second place overall. It was an exciting day, thoroughly enjoyed by all participants.