Congratulations to Lower Sixth student Florence, who has won a prestigious prize in the Peterhouse Kelvin Sciences Essay Competition, run by Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.
The national competition challenges students to explore complex scientific ideas beyond the classroom, encouraging wider reading and independent thinking. Florence’s essay was selected from a highly competitive field of entries, earning her a £125 prize and an invitation to a special celebration event at Peterhouse, where winners will enjoy talks on applying to Cambridge, a tour of the College and a certificate presentation.
Florence’s essay explored the importance of chirality in biological molecules and organisms. Chirality is a scientific concept that describes objects or molecules that are mirror images of each other but cannot be perfectly superimposed, much like our left and right hands. Although two chiral molecules may appear almost identical, they can behave very differently in living organisms, making chirality a fundamental concept in biology, chemistry and medicine.
As part of her essay, Florence examined the Thalidomide tragedy, one of the most significant examples of the importance of chirality in medicine. Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women in the late 1950s and early 1960s to treat morning sickness. While one mirror-image form of the drug had the desired medicinal effect, the other caused severe birth defects, leading to one of the biggest pharmaceutical disasters in history. Florence also discussed chirality in nature, including snail shell development and embryo formation, demonstrating how molecular asymmetry plays a crucial role in the development of living organisms.
Dr Justin Gerlach, who judged the competition, praised Florence’s work, commenting:
“This was a clear account. It had a good, engaging introduction. Chemical chirality was well covered, and a suitable amount of detail was included on asymmetry in organisms: snail and human conditions. It also summarised clearly. This was a relatively short essay, but it covered all the necessary points very efficiently. Overall, it was a good, sensible approach, well-structured and clearly written.”
Speaking about her success, Florence said:
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much out of it. I entered because I thought the briefs were interesting, and I’m looking to apply for Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where they recommend taking part in essay competitions and doing wider reading.”
She added that her interest in the topic stemmed from a long-standing fascination with the subject.
“I’ve always found chirality very interesting because it’s about mirror-image molecules. They look the same, but they can have completely different effects on the body. It’s something I’d like to look into further after school.”
Florence also highlighted the support she has received from Truro School throughout her A Level studies.
“The teachers have been amazing with offering their time outside of lessons to explain things and help out. The support is amazing here and there are so many different opportunities within school as well. I found the competition myself, but it recommended having a teacher sign it off and as soon as I asked Ms Havis, my Biology teacher, she was super helpful in filling it all out.”
Looking ahead, Florence hopes to continue her scientific journey at the University of Cambridge.
“Hopefully Cambridge for Natural Sciences, following the biological pathway and, ultimately, going into research science and seeing where it takes me.”
We are incredibly proud of Florence’s success and wish her every luck as she celebrates her achievement at Peterhouse and continues her journey towards a future in scientific research.
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