St Mary's High School Gateshead wins national science challenge

Wednesday 18 October 2006

In a thrilling finish to the University of Newcastle's 2006 Science and Engineering Grand Challenge, St Mary's High School, Gateshead (NSW) has beaten Oberon High School, Belmont (VIC) to become back to back champions.

Only four points separated the top two teams. In a nail biting finish, it was the bridge building activity - where students must build a bridge to carry a certain weight - that decided first and second place. Wingham High School (NSW) placed third.

More than 500 Year 10 students from 16 high schools from the ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania competed in the Grand Challenge in Tamworth this week.

The Grand Challenge was the culmination of a series of Science and Engineering Challenges involving more than 12,000 students from 400 high schools in all states of Australia (except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory).

The Science and Engineering Challenge is the brainchild of the Faculty of Science and Information Technology and the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle. It was created as a way of addressing Australia's major skills shortage by sparking student interest in studying science and engineering related subjects.

Professor John O'Connor, Head of the School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences at the University of Newcastle, said interest in Science and Engineering degree programs had been steadily increasing since the inception of the Challenge in 2000.

"What comes out is an understanding of the value of teamwork, thinking outside the square, creativity, innovation and that learning can be great fun. This is the key message that we want to get through - that learning in the science, IT and engineering areas is challenging, but also fun," Professor John Connor said.

The University of Newcastle's ultimate goal is to make the Challenge available to high schools in every state and territory next year and to increase the number of schools competing over the next decade.

The Challenge, which won the Engineers Australia National Engineering Excellence Award in 2003 for the best engineering project in Australia, is supported by local communities through Rotary International, Engineers Australia and the Department of Education, Science and Training.

For media comment, Professor John O'Connor on 0402 839 978 or Mr Bob Nelson 0409 449 151.