In the UK Chemistry Tournament, teams of students tackle open-ended, research-style problems in advance, make presentations, and then meet at the Tournament to debate their ideas in three distinct roles. 

The Reporter presents its solution and defends the scientific reasoning behind it. 

The Opponent critically analyses another team’s solution, highlighting strengths, weaknesses and alternative interpretations. 

The Reviewer evaluates both sides of the debate and offers an independent scientific judgement.

Each round is a dynamic discussion where chemistry knowledge, clear argumentation and teamwork matter as much as the final answer.

The UK Chemistry Tournament problem set is now published, and students can begin working on the challenges straight away.  All six problems should be solved in advance of the competition, with each team preparing a presentation for every problem. These are open-ended, research-based tasks that assess creativity, reasoning, and scientific communication – they do not require performing any experiments. We encourage teams to start exploring the problems early, discuss ideas within their groups, and develop thoughtful, well-supported solutions ahead of the tournament.