More than 300 young people representing over 50 schools from all over Scotland and as far afield as Peebles and the Western Isles gathered at Glasgow Science Centre on Friday 31 May to take part in the Celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The Celebration is organised by SCDI’s Young Engineers & Science Clubs (YESC) programme and sponsored by The Big Bang, Chevron, Lloyds Register EMEA, OPITO and SHELL U.K. Limited.
Young people were involved in a variety of challenges and competitions throughout the day. They showcased their projects to win the ‘Club of the Year’ titles (primary and secondary) and ‘Newcomer Award’ – for the most impressive club in its first year. The winners were announced by guest judge, Dr Heather Reid OBE and the 2019 Club of the Year titles were awarded to Clerkhill Primary in Aberdeenshire and All Saints Secondary in Glasgow. With the Newcomers award going to Ayr Academy in South Ayrshire.
The day consisted of various elements, the first being our STEM Challenge, which saw 17 organisations provide a three-minute, hands-on STEM challenge for schools to complete. The challenges double up as an opportunity to provide an insight into the wide range of careers in the STEM industry. The winners of the STEM challenges were Bridge of Weir Primary in Renfrewshire and Monifieth High in Angus.
The event also hosted the final of ‘pH of Scotland’, our 2018-2019 national STEM challenge which is supported by The Royal Society of Chemistry. The ‘Propel’ challenge in partnership with BAE Systems Marine, our Knots to Watt’s challenge, which is jointly supported by Crown Estate Scotland, Equinor and the Institute of Physics in Scotland (IOPS) and lastly the VEX IQ competition in partnership with VEX Robotics.
Eight secondary schools secured a place to the Big Bang Competition UK Finals which will take place in Birmingham in March 2020.
Claire Adamson, Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee, presented the awards and said:
“These young people filled me with great optimism for the future. STEM subjects promote ingenuity and originality. Tackling society’s big issues will require the creative spark that STEM education can nurture.I am thrilled that so many young people have shown the initiative to engage with their learning and find out what STEM education can do for them. I hope that others are inspired to follow suit and that every young person can fulfil their potential.”
Ronnie Quinn, Interim CEO, SCDI, added:
“Today is a fantastic culmination to the year-round work of SCDI’s Young Engineers & Science Clubs (YESC) Programme. It continues to inspire and enthuse young people about the many exciting and rewarding opportunities STEM subjects can offer Scotland’s future workforce. With activities across the country from Shetland in the north to Dumfries in the south our aim over the next 12 months is to continue to spark that enthusiasm and ultimately support the needs of our members and industry across Scotland to attract the necessary talent for sustainable economic growth”.
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SCDI Press Contact: Fraser Grieve Mob: 07747 444261
Further information:
Notes to Editors:
• Winners of each competition and photos are available on request.
• The following 53 schools took part in the event:
Ae Primary Dumfries and Galloway
All Saints Secondary Glasgow
Antonine Primary Glasgow
Ayr Academy South Ayrshire
Bearsden Academy East Dunbartonshire
Braeview Academy Dundee
Braidhurst High North Lanarkshire
Bridge of Weir Primary Renfrewshire
Broomhill Primary Glasgow
Canmore Primary Fife
Carnoustie High Angus
Clerkhill Primary Aberdeenshire
Corpus Christi Primary Glasgow
Dalkeith High Midlothian
Dalmarnock Primary Glasgow
Dornoch Academy Highland
Dunbarney Primary Perth and Kinross
Eassie Primary Angus
Edinburgh Academy Edinburgh
Forres Academy Moray
Garnock Community Campus North Ayrshire
Greenwood Academy North Ayrshire
Hayshead Primary Angus
Hyndland Primary Glasgow
Hyndland Secondary Glasgow
Jedburgh Grammar Borders
Jimmy Dunnachie Family Learning Centre Glasgow
Kilmacolm Primary Inverclyde
Kilsyth Academy North Lanarkshire
Kingsland Primary Borders
Kinross High Perth and Kinross
Mearns Primary East Renfrewshire
Mintlaw Academy Aberdeenshire
Monifieth High Angus
Park Mains High Renfrewshire
Priorsford Primary Borders
Sgoil Bhreascleit Western Isles
Sgoil Lionacleit Western Isles
Sir E Scott Western Isles
St Ambrose High North Lanarkshire
St Andrew’s RC Secondary Glasgow
St Bride’s Primary Highland
St Brigid’s Primary Glasgow
St Margaret’s High North Lanarkshire
St Ninian’s High East Renfrewshire
St Paul’s Primary (Whiteinch) Glasgow
St Rose of Lima Primary Glasgow
The Glasgow Academy Glasgow
Thornwood Primary Glasgow
Tullos Primary Aberdeen
• The organisations providing STEM Challenges are:
Aberdeen Science Centre
BP
BT Scotland
CityFibre
Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd.
Incremental Group
Lloyd’s Register EMEA
Scottish Maritime Museum
Scotrail
ScottishPower
Story Contracting
TAQA
Thales
Rolls-Royce
University of the West of Scotland
• As part of the 2019 – 2020 ‘pH of Scotland’ national STEM challenge, 150 kits were distributed to schools throughout Scotland and teams tasked with analysing their local water, and designing and building a water screening and filtration systems.
• The Knots to Watts project aims to inspire school pupils to research offshore wind technologies by designing and building a floating wind turbine that generates electricity. Kits, containing components parts to be incorporated into the models, were distributed to primary and secondary schools across Scotland and teams brought their models to test in the model wind tunnel at the event.
• The Propel project was undertaken by the Glasgow-based partner schools of BAE Systems Marine. The schools were tasked to design, present and test their floating Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV).
• During the 2018/19 school year, SCDI became the Scottish Delivery Partner for VEX Robotics. 40 schools received free kit to enable them to design and programme a competition robot at heats in Aberdeen, Arbroath, Fort William and Glasgow. Eight finalists competed in the National UK Finals in Telford.
• The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) is Scotland’s Economic and Social Forum. It is an independent membership network representing a cross-section of the private, public and social economy sectors in Scotland with an aim of influencing the agenda to ensure long-term sustainable economic growth and flourishing communities everywhere in Scotland.
• SCDI’s Young Engineers and Science Clubs programme has played a leading role in growing interest and sparking enthusiasm in STEM subjects for over 30 years. There are now more than 1,500 primary and secondary schools in our network throughout Scotland’s 32 local authority areas, engaged in a variety of both curriculum linked and extra-curricular projects.
Source: SCDI
