By Thiago Barata Reis, Year 12
One of LGB’s students, Sophia Gabriele in year 12, placed 10th amongst nearly 300 French-speaking students in the regional Biology Olympiad. To find out more about this competition and her amazing accomplishment, we spoke to her about her experiences.
Firstly, what is the Biology Olympiad?
The Biology Olympiad is an international competition for students interested in or passionate about biology, which tests participants’ practical and analytical skills, as well as general biology knowledge.
How many people participated in it? When did it take place?
The Swiss qualifying regional round took place in September. 1,844 people participated across the country. In Suisse-Romand, there were 295 people taking the French exam. There was a German one for German speakers and an Italian one too. Ultimately, the tests were all the same but translated. This initial exam was followed by a week of preparation for the 2nd round, which took place in October.
Who inspired you to go? What did they say?
I really enjoy studying biology; I am taking it as an HL subject in the IB. When Dr. Anil mentioned it to the class at the beginning of the year, I thought it could be a fun experience, and even if I didn’t make it to the final round, at least I gave it a shot! Ms. Lelacheur is responsible for helping students to register and take the exam at school, and she also expressed how great of an opportunity participating in this competition would be.
Did you study for it?
I did not study for the test. The exam tested students’ practical biology knowledge and analytical skills and featured questions across various fields of biology. For anyone who is interested and wants to prepare, the Swiss Biology Olympiad organization does offer past exam questions for preparation.
What types of questions were they? Did you use much of your knowledge from biology class?
A wide range of the question material is taught in high school biology. Some were very specific, knowledge-based questions, while others tested the participants’ analytical skills, asking them to interpret graphs and data. All of the questions were multiple choice and there were 65 in total – some questions consisted of 4 true/false subquestions.
When it came to test day were you nervous? How long was the test?
I wasn’t particularly nervous; I was taking the test for fun, and I was not taking it too seriously. The one thing I was worried about was the fact that the test was in French, and I have never studied biology in French before, nor do I take mother-tongue French (French A). We were given 1h30 to complete the exam.
What was your reaction when you found out you came 10th out of 295 French-speaking test takers?
I was incredibly surprised to have come 10th out of 295 French speakers and to have qualified in a competition against 1,844 other individuals. After completing the exam, I was really uncertain of how I had done and was definitely not expecting to have qualified for the next round.
What comes next? Are there any more stages?
There are two more rounds of exams and preparation weeks until the final International Biology competition. The next exam is on February 26th and will narrow the current competitor pool down to 20 people; then there will be another week of preparation. After that, there will be another exam from which the top 4 will head to the international biology Olympiad (set to take place in Yerevan, Armenia).
Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking about doing the Biology Olympiad or doing Biology in IB?
Biology is a subject with a huge amount of course material so it is important to consistently go over what you have learnt in class and make sure that you have an excellent understanding of each topic. Remember that teachers are there to answer any of your questions so definitely don’t be afraid to ask for help! As for the biology Olympiad, the score you receive will not count towards your biology grade, so there really is no harm in just taking the test and seeing how you do. Who knows, you might even make it to the International competition!
To summarize, the Biology olympiad is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in biology to test their abilities and leave their comfort zone. There really is no harm in trying, and you could be pleasantly surprised by your result. It already takes so much courage and initiative to try, so even if you sign up for it, you should be very proud of yourself.
Look out for future biology olympiads and do not hesitate to ask your teachers for more information! The website with resources can be found with this link: https://biology.olympiad.ch/en/
