The Schools Analyst Competition is held annually and is open to sixth form students who are undertaking AS Level Chemistry at schools throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Within the North West Region the competition is held at the following four locations: (i) Liverpool John Moores University; (ii) University of Central Lancashire (Preston) alternating each year with Lancaster University; (iii) Bangor University; (iv) Manchester University. The winners from each location qualify for the National Final which is held at a different university in the UK each year.

Schools from the North West Region have a proud record in the national finals of the Schools Analyst Competition. In 2011 Sir John Deane's College (Northwich) and Arnold School (Blackpool) took first and second places respectively, and in 2012 Arnold School (Blackpool) and Altrincham Grammar School for Boys took first and third places respectively. In 2014 Holyhead High School took joint second place in the national final, and in 2015 Ruthin School and the Catholic High School (Chester) took first and third places respectively. Sir John Deane's College (Northwich) and Withington Girls School (Manchester) took first and second places respectively in 2017, and Nelson and Colne College took third place in 2019.

NWAD congratulates all these teams for their great performance in this event, and thanks the students and teachers from all schools in our region which participate in this competition. We are also most grateful to the organisers of the regional heats at Liverpool, Preston, Lancaster, Bangor and Manchester, and to our various sponsors for their generous support.