Cambridge Chemistry Race successfully finishes for the 6th time

Teams of three to five raced against each other in our BMS lecture theatre to answer questions and the best performing teams received Chemistry-themed prizes. This year the energy was palpable.

 Agustin Lorusso, the organiser, says: “We are looking to establish more venues within the UK to meet demand, widen participation and build a stronger chemistry community. It would be very exciting to have past competitors join the organising committee and go on to organise their own races when they start University, just like I did.”

Chemistry Race is an international competition that originated at the University of Pardubice, Czechia and first ran in Cambridge in 2020. 

The race is organised entirely by University students. Anybody is free to submit questions for the exam and indeed the final exam had authors from the USA, Czechia and the UK. Question-writers aim to cover all areas of the A-level curriculum, but also like to include unorthodox concepts so students can stretch their knowledge. 

Here is an example question students have to solve: 

‘An unnameable mess’ AuXe₄(Sb₂F11)₂ is an unusual compound containing a bond between a noble gas and a noble metal. Give the oxidation states of Au, Xe and F. Assume that all the elements have integer oxidation states, the oxidation state of Sb is +V and all atoms of one element have the same oxidation state (by Neil Waterson).

The department will host the 7th Cambridge Chemistry Race on 7 February 2026. Registration for teams will open on 1 December 2025.

Feel free to visit their Facebook page and their official website to sign up to the mailing list to stay up-to-date on the latest news and deadlines. You can also access the previous challenge questions and answers to challenge your chemistry knowledge.

This article was originally published in Chem@Cam magazine Issue 70.