waterloo

Chemistry

U of T Competitions

SHAD

Competitions

Students have multiple opportunities to participate in various Science Competitions and Programs

Many students successfully apply and are accepted to SHAD Canada. SHAD Canada is an annual Canadian summer enrichment program for high-achieving high school students in July. The program is open to both Canadian and international students. The program is offered at 19 participating universities across Canada.

Waterloo (Chemistry and Physics) Cawthra Science students participate in numerous competitions and we have a number of students that have placed in the top %ile or have won various awards. For example, every year our students participate in the Grade 11 Avogadro and Grade 12 Chem13 Contests.

UofT(Biology) Furthermore, our students participate in the National Biology Competition hosted by the University of Toronto. Multiple students place in top 25% and we had a graduate who placed #26 among over 3000 competitors.

2025-2026 School Year

We’re excited to share some great news: four students from Cawthra Park Secondary School have been selected to attend Shad, Canada’s longest-running STEAM + entrepreneurship program, delivered in partnership with more than 30 leading post-secondary institutions.

Congratulations

Estelle Arita, Emily Jedeszko, Jenna Kokaly, and Alexandra Tanurkova!

Cawthra Park Secondary School has a strong Shad legacy. With 64 alumni who've come before, you know firsthand the kind of students this program attracts and the impact it can have. It's wonderful to see that tradition continue with this newest cohort!

Selection to Shad remains as competitive as ever. These students were chosen for their curiosity, creativity, leadership, and readiness to stretch beyond the classroom and they clearly made an impression.

HomeShad is a month-long summer STEAM and entrepreneurship program that empowers high school students across Canada to explore, collaborate, and create change.

2025-2026 School Year - Waterloo Chemistry Exams

waiting for results

2024-2025 School Year - Waterloo Chemistry Exams

WE DID IT AGAIN!

Chemistry Students achieve Distinctions and National Chemistry Scholar Award

Congratulations goes out to our senior chemistry students who competed in the University of Waterloo Avogadro (Grade 11) and Chem 13 (Grade 12) Chemistry Contests this past May. The contest was a fantastic opportunity for them to test their chemistry knowledge against students in accredited high schools around the world.

This year, fifteen grade 12 students and twenty grade 11 students chose to compete.

Scan this QR CODE to learn more

CHEM 13 Contest (Grade 12)

Vicky Zhao Receives National Chemistry Scholar Award - two consecutive years!

Our grade 12 students received nine distinctions.

Yue (Vicky) Zhao

Chemistry Scholar - recipient of a limited edition Elemental Tile Plaque for scoring in the

Top 200 out of almost 2000 Competitors

#88 in North America

Top 10% in the world

Top 5% In Canada

Top 5% in Ontario

Lucy Wang

Top 24% in the world
Top 17% in Canada
Top 16% in Ontario

Nicholas Wang

Top 30% in Canada
Top 30% in Ontario

4) Quyen Luong

5) Sean Duncan

6) Sienna Deblasio

7) Andrew Concannon

8) Bridget Doan Nguyen

9) Rebecca MacLellan

Avogadro (Grade 11) Contest

Our grade 11 students received eight distinctions.

Top three students scored in the 25th percentile in the country and province.

Abigail Ma

Top 20% in the world
Top 10 % in Canada
Top 10 % in Ontario

2) Maryam Zainab

Top 30% in the world
Top 20% in Canada
Top 18% in Ontario

3) Jia Balani

Top 24% in Canada
Top 23% in Ontario

4) Camille So

5) Brooke Silva

6) Nicholas Toma

7) Candy Xie

2023-2024 School Year

SCIENCE MATTERS!

Science Students receive Distinctions in Chemistry and Physics Contests

CHEM 13 Contest

Our grade 12 students also received eight distinctions. Our top five students scored in the 30% percentile in the world, country and province.

Top TWO Grade 12 Students were Margaret Kravchenko and Uddham Bains

Avogadro Contest Competitors and Chem 13 Competitors, 2024 (Ms. Petrychkovych’s students)

Avogadro Contest, 2024 Competitors (Ms. Singh’s students)

University of Waterloo’s Sir Isaac Newton (SIN) Physics Exam, 2024

Adrian Hagyard and Ruthvik Toom were also brave enough to compete in University of Waterloo’s Sir Isaac Newton (SIN) Physics Exam. This year’s SIN exam was arguably one of the more challenging, with an average worldwide score of 12.15%. Adrian performed better than this global average and ranked in the top 30% of all participants.