The mission over the past 15 years at Cambridge has been to raise the profile and enjoyment of chemistry amongst students. However, having recently hosted its second annual reception for the very top students who entered this year's Cambridge Chemistry Challenge written paper, one thing was quite striking; despite the wide range of schools and academies represented from right across the UK, only three out of the thirty-eight students were girls. However, this has nothing to do with differing abilities of the genders in these subjects--it is simply that girls are not choosing these subjects at post-16 level. Competitions such as the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, which require the use of online resources, illustrate ways in which educators can encourage students to find out more about science for themselves. One thing seems sure--this innovative competition has provided teachers with a different way to motivate their students and encourage them to engage in the sciences outside of the curriculum.