St Mary's College pupil wins award at major science festival

Pupils have taken part in a major science festival in Derry.

SciFest@North-West 2017, which was held at St Mary’s College, involves young people coming up with fun science projects.

The festival is aimed at encouraging the pupils to demonstrate their interest in subjects such as science, technology, maths and engineering.

Around 150 pupils from throughout the north west took part in the local event.

The top prize on the day went to Year 10 pupil Maeve Stillman from St. Mary’s College for her project on ‘Making Scobi’.

SciFest@North-West 2017 is annually supported by Sentinus Big Bang Northern Ireland and is sponsored by local firm Seagate.

The Seagate Awards this year will see pupils from St Mary’s College, Foyle College and St Killian's head to the Big Bang, Birmingham in the new school year.

Mark Logue, a teacher at St Mary’s college and SciFest@North-West co-ordinator, praised all the young people involved.

“As always, the projects entered by the students in SciFest are impressive, engaging and thought-provoking,” he said.

“Secondary school students from across the region are demonstrating their passion for science, technology, engineering and maths, which is clearly evident from the high standard of research that has gone into the entries this year.

“SciFest is a competition that aims to encourage students to develop an interest in STEM, while prioritising inclusivity and inquiry-based learning.

“We are proud to support such a valuable programme and we welcome local primary schools to our event also.

“We are also very grateful to the competition judges who represent local industry, the competition could not happen without their faithful support.”

June Coates, Internal Communications/Community Engagement for Seagate, said: “Out of the extensive portfolio of STEM outreach that Seagate supports, this science fair celebrates the hands-on STEM interaction, it is also a great great way for young people to showcase their STEM projects to the judges, this experience is vital to the pipeline of future talent.”