News
Freman students take on the Cambridge Biology Challenge
Posted: September 15, 2026
Freman students enjoyed an exciting year of success and participation in Biology-focused competitions, taking part in three new national events: the Cambridge Biology Challenge, the National Science Writer Award, and the British Biology Challenge/British Biology Olympiad. These achievements build on the college's continued involvement in The Big Bang Competition and a range of Physics competitions.
This year also marked Freman's first participation in the Cambridge Biology Challenge, a national competition organised by Homerton College, University of Cambridge. The competition encourages students to explore Biology through creative problem-solving, scientific reasoning and open-ended thinking. Rather than focusing solely on factual recall, participants are challenged to tackle complex questions in a style similar to those encountered in Cambridge admissions interviews.
Throughout the academic year, teams work on four thought-provoking questions covering a wide range of biological themes. This year's topics included whether new life can be created, the role of Mathematics in Biology, intelligence in non-human organisms, and the skills needed for success in the biological sciences. Students are encouraged to communicate their ideas creatively through formats such as essays, presentations, posters, podcasts and videos.
Freman entered six students into the competition, with three students from Year 10 and three from Year 11. While the Year 11 students understandably prioritised their GCSE examinations and were unable to complete all four rounds, the Year 10 team successfully completed the full competition.
The scale of the challenge was significant, with more than 2,000 students from 941 teams and individual entries taking part from schools across the country. The competition is highly competitive, with the top ten teams invited to Homerton College, University of Cambridge, to celebrate their achievements at a special awards event. Notably, all of this year's top ten teams were from Years 12 and 13, highlighting the impressive commitment and resilience shown by Freman's younger students in their debut year.
We are incredibly proud of all the students who took part and look forward to building on this success in future competitions.
