The 16 finalists for the 2017 British Biology Olympiad have been announced this week, in anticipation of this year’s international final, taking place right here in the UK.

In January, a record 7,500 students took part in the first round of the British Biology Olympiad. Medal winners from this round will be invited to an awards ceremony at The Institute of Engineering and Technology in London in July.

The 144 students with the highest scores from the first round were then invited to take a more demanding examination, to identify the top 16 who will attend the UK finals at University of Warwick in April.

The top four from the 16 finalists will also be invited to represent the UK at the International Biology Olympiad this summer, also taking place at the University of Warwick.

Dr Andrew Treharne MBE FRSB, who chairs the group of volunteers which organises the competition, says: "The standard of this year’s competitors was as high as ever and I look forward to meeting this year’s finalists in Warwick. Many congratulations to them for getting to this stage, top 16 out of 7,500 is an incredible achievement.

“The UK is hosting the International Biology Olympiad for the first time this year, making this a more exciting prospect than ever before for our national team.”

The sixteen finalists, in alphabetical order:

Jamie Baudry                      Wellington College

William Chadwick                Reading School

Jiaqi Chen                           The Perse School

Candice Chow                     St Catherine's School

Eleanor Craven                    Peter Symonds College

Rebecca Eden                    St Paul's Girls' School

Thea Fennell                       Hills Road Sixth Form College

Nathan Hancock                 Nottingham High School

Naail Kashif-Khan               City of London School for Boys

Regan Lee                          Devonport High School for Boys

Anthony Lim                       King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Isobel Marchant                  Old Palace of John Whitgift School

Jakob Marshall                    Norwich School

Ben Norris                          Bancroft's School

Edward Tough                     Bishop Wordsworth's School

Mark Withers                      Silverdale School