Walgett teacher Tim Jenkinson spotted a keen young chemist in his Year 6 class and decided to help him take on the world

Walgett Community College student, Ankith Aby, was the only the only primary school student in Australia to take part in The International Chemistry Quiz scoring higher than the NSW and Australian averages in his division, and was awarded a credit. Photo supplied

The Walgett Community College Primary School teacher loves to stretch his remote North-Western NSW students and Ankith Aby was certainly up for it.

Inspired by Ankith’s passion for all things scientific, Mr Jenkinson practised some physics of his own, jumping through hoops to enter the youngster in an international competition for much older students.

“The International Chemistry Quiz is a prestigious, annual chemistry competition organised by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute,” Mr Jenkinson said.

He was already offering Ankith, then aged 10 years, extension modules in biology, maths, and physics, and knew the chemistry exam was a perfect opportunity to test his progress.

“I knew Ankith could give it a great shot but was not sure he would be allowed to enter,” Mr Jeninson said.

He fired off some emails, outlining his eager student’s aptitude and passion for chemistry, and was delighted to learn Ankith could enter the high school competition, with 100,000 students from 21 nations.

In Term 3, Ankith became the only primary school student in Australia to sit the particularly challenging 2025 Year 7 and 8 exam. […]

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