Carrick's Downshire School hosts first science fair

Their projects were under the microscope when Downshire School held its first ever science fair.

All year 9 pupils took part by working in teams during science class to investigate a topic of their choice.

They had three weeks to research, carry out experiments and report their findings in a poster. Each group presented their poster at the fair, where six guest judges grilled the students.

The judges included the Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Councillor Billy Ashe; Richard Noble, head of Engineering for Translink; Matthew Laughlin from W5 and AES employees Rebecca Murray and Mr Ciaran McReynolds. AES, which operates Kilroot Power Station, also kindly provided sponsorship for the event.

The winners of the science fair, a school spokesperson explained, were chosen based on their scientific knowledge and skills, team work and creativity.

The first place prize winners were Robert Gonzalez, Scott Adams, Mayank Biswas and Thomas Bradin for their project on meteors and asteroids, ‘Does Shape and Size Matter?’.

Bronwen Norten and Courtney McManus-Walsh took second place with their project on teeth “What are Cavities and What Causes them?’

The Mayor’s Award was presented to Alex Baxter for his assistance with organising the afternoon.

Meanwhile, year 11 Learning for Life and Work classes have participated in a Young Enterprise budgeting workshop. “They gained a lot of useful advice and information – and a sound reality check about the need to do well in exams if you want to get a good job and earn money to pay for essentials and luxuries.”