TALENTED Droitwich students demonstrated their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math when they won the Wocestershire Primary School’s STEM Challenge Grand Prize.
Millie and Steph from Westacre Middle School were among the winners of the event, which had to be postponed last year due to the pandemic.
The program is run by STEMworks – a partnership between Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, Worcestershire County Council and district councils across the county.
This year’s competition, designed to inspire the country’s next generation of engineers, challenged contestants to design a green home and identify a problem affecting the food industry before it is resolved.
Phil Cotton of Westacre Middle School said, “Competitions like this can really inspire our children.
Although it was a tricky concept this year, our students enjoyed the opportunity to think outside the box and love the idea of real-world problem solving.
“What Millie and Steph did was really amazing and it is a real honor for their own creativity and invention.”
Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, congratulated the winners and finalists, adding, “I have attended previous STEM Challenge program finals and really enjoyed seeing some of the creative minds in our county in action.
“It is important that we inspire students across the county to get excited about STEM subjects and skills to create the future Worcestershire workforce.”
Sarah Lalor, Activity Coordinator at STEMworks, said, “This is a great opportunity for children to participate in an engaging and challenging program. The challenge develops key skills for problem solving and opens the way to a future career in the MINT area.
“We are overwhelmed by the amazing response from the registrations for the next school year and show that this is a valuable experience for schools.”
“The competition gave the children a real insight into the economy and opened their eyes to future career opportunities.
“As students began to see clear goals and the direction they would like to take about their future careers, they can achieve wonderful things.
“We look forward to the challenge next year and hope that we can build on our success from this year.”
Visit stemworks.co.uk/wordpress/ to learn more about the STEM Challenge program – there have already been 46 bookings from 33 different schools for the Challenge next year.