Four UK students have been awarded medals at the International Biology Olympiad in Denmark.

Following a gruelling week of practical and theoretical examinations, the students were delighted to receive three silver medals and one bronze medal during the closing ceremony.

Guy Cheng (Winchester College) narrowly missed out on a Gold medal, coming top of the silver medals. Timothy Birkle (St Paul's School) and Matthew Hankins (Reading School) received silver medals and Rhys Thomson (Reigate Grammar School) was awarded a bronze medal.

Rachel Lambert-Forsyth, director of education and training at the Royal Society of Biology said:
"The International Biology Olympiad brings together over 240 of the best young biologists from around the world and the UK team has an impressive record of bringing home medals each year. 2015 is no different and we are delighted for our students who proved once again that the UK educates some of the brightest biologists in the world!"

"I have had the pleasure of accompanying our four students to Denmark and would like to personally congratulate them on their accomplishment. All four students are excellent ambassadors for the RSB and the UK and I wish them every success in their continued studies and future careers."

In January, a record 6,189 students took part in the first round of the British Biology Olympiad. Medal winners including the UK team members attended an awards ceremony at the Royal Institution in July to celebrate their achievements.

The team then had a busy few weeks preparing for the IBO with training at the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens, and the University of Warwick before flying to Denmark.

Teams from 61 countries competed in this year’s IBO, with students taking part individually and using their knowledge and expertise in biology. In addition to providing inspiring scientific challenges and the chance to win medals, the competition provided the participants an opportunity to meet other like-minded young biologists from around the world.

The Royal Society of Biology and the volunteers of UK Biology Competitions would like to congratulate Timothy, Guy, Matthew and Rhys on their well-deserved success.

We would like to thank the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for its continued support of the UK team’s participation at the international competition.