Alness young inventors triumph again at UK engineering fair
YOUNG inventors from Alness Academy have triumphed at a national science fair for the third year in a row by winning the UK Best Engineering Project of the Year award.
Members of Alness Geoscience travelled to Birmingham last week to represent Scotland at the UK finals of the National Science and Engineering competition – aiming for a third consecutive national title.
The young team vowed the judging panel on Friday at the Big Bang Young Engineers Fair in Birmingham with their inventions which included a midge helmet to repel the scourge of the Highland summer.
Their amazing winning streak continued when they were presented with the best engineering group award, beating both public and private schools from across the whole of the UK.
They also received a highly commended award from the judges in the intermediate category.
The Alness Academy team won the UK Young Engineers and Science Club of the Year title in 2012 in Birmingham and then UK Best Engineering Project last year in London.
It is the third time Alness Geoscience has represented Scotland at the Big Bang Science and Engineering finals at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, which runs until Sunday.
The youngsters secured their place by winning the Best Scottish Club Showcase in June at the Big Bang Scottish finals in Glasgow.
The Alness team is made up of fifth year pupil Josie Tolliday and fourth years Rachel Macrae, Sean Clark, Craig Munro, Michael Knox and Matthew Prescott, along with principal science teacher Liana Ballingall, principal teacher of geography and geology Alex Ferrie and retired janitor Eddie Malicki.
This year the club has been working on the theme of "research on an island" and has looked at renewable projects such as wave generators, wind turbines and underwater generators.
The pupils have built a remotely operated vehicle for underwater research and their own ferry for transporting it to deep water. To repel insects they have also designed a midge helmet.
Liana said: "Over the last three years we have had a different team in every competition so this makes our success even more incredible. Alness Geoscience is a very supportive club and supports every team member in every competition however, Josie along with the three staff and my green jumper have been in every winning team!
“I am so proud of what they have achieved and we are also extremely grateful to our sponsors for their generous support. "
Josie Tolliday added: “The projects we worked on really grabbed our imagination and the judges showed a lot of interest saying our enthusiasm came across clearly in our presentation. It was good to meet other teams and see what they were doing and our midge helmets caused quite a stir. The whole experience has been great and given us all the chance to meet lots of inspiring people. I am sure we’ll be putting our heads together to come up with another idea for next year’s competition.”
The team will be travelling to Aberdeen in April for a science event at Robert Gordon University and in June will be taking part in the Scottish Big Bang event held during the Edinburgh Science Festival
The Big Bang in Birmingham is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people in the UK, and attracted 65,000 visitors last year.
It also hosts the finals of the National Science and Engineering competition which rewards students who have achieved excellence in a science, technology, engineering or maths project.
