Woodham students won themselves a trip to London to see the Olympics and £1000 for their school in a prestigious national competition. The students, Natasha Blackburn, Scott Dawson, Brenna Finn, Caitlin Hindle and Ryan Metcalfe came second in the STEM Challenge in London last week.
STEM Challenges are a series of competitions designed to encourage young people to use the skills learnt in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to think and work creatively about the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cisco, STEMNET and the Pearson Foundation challenged students to consider the venue, location, sport, resources, facilities and equipment to plan a large scale, accessible and sustainable event in their home area. As one of eight finalists, the Woodham team was invited to Cisco House, overlooking the Olympic Park, to a Dragon’s Den style pitch to a panel of expert judges.
The judges were impressed with the team’s plan for a triathlon event in Newton Aycliffe, involving running, swimming and cycling. Students supported their presentation with their own DVD and event merchandise. One of the judges summarised their performance as “awesome”.
The idea to enter the competition came from the students’ Chemistry teacher, Miss Telford, who will use the prize money to further invest in Woodham’s Science club. Christine Forsyth, headteacher at Woodham, said “This was a great opportunity for some of our most able students to put their knowledge of Science, Mathematics and Technology into practice. Everyone at Woodham is very proud of their achievement”.
