Six Silver Medals for Australia
The inaugural nationally-selected International Junior Science Olympiad team were awarded six silver medals after an impressive performance.
In December 2021, six students travelled to Canberra to remotely attend the International Junior Science Olympiad, which was hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The Junior Science Olympians participated in challenging exams and group experiments over seven days, testing their knowledge across advanced general science topics.
All six students won silver medals, ranking them in the top 20% of competing students from across the globe. This is an outstanding result for Australia’s first year competing at this event.def
| Name | Age | Year | Gender | School | State | Award |
| Athu Sathe | 14 | 9 | Male | Perth Modern School | WA | Silver |
| Heidi Gong | 14 | 9 | Female | St Peter’s Collegiate Girls School | SA | Silver |
| Jacinta Rees | 15 | 10 | Female | Meriden School | NSW | Silver |
| Kelvin Chan | 14 | 9 | Male | Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics & Technology | QLD | Silver |
| Lauren Singh | 15 | 10 | Female | Alstonville High School | NSW | Silver |
| Liam Chen | 15 | 9 | Male | Scotch College Hawthorn | VIC | Silver |
The experience has strongly influenced the young Olympians’ future study and career, with all of them indicating a strong intention to study science and technology subjects at university.
“I think I speak for the whole team when I say that the International Junior Science Olympiad was an absolutely amazing experience,”
“Not only did we develop a ton of invaluable skills – a lot of which we would never have learnt otherwise – but we also got to bond as a team and make lots of new friends, and it really opened our eyes to the world of science. The IJSO definitely captivated me when it comes to science in general, and it’s compelled me to continue with the Senior Science Olympiads in the future.”
