The Forest students in bid for national award

The students, from The Forest School, Comptons Lane, will be representing the South East in the finals of the National Science + Engineering Competition (NSEC) in Birmingham in March.

They earned the right to represent the region in the finals after winning NSEC regional heats at the Big Bang Fair South East in Crawley last July, and they will be competing for prizes worth a total of £50,000 and the prestigious titles of Young Scientist and Young Engineer of the Year.

Calum Robison, Roberto Salvia and Edward Jeffrey will present their project “Biofuels” to NSEC judges.

In the regional heats, the students won the NSEC Junior Science/Maths category for the project, which is aimed at producing biofuels and determining their usefulness, and they were praised by judges for the high quality of their presentation.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2014 regional heats of NSEC, which will be held at the Big Bang Fair South East, at the South of England Showground on 1st July.

NSEC is divided into two streams – Science/Maths and Engineering/Technology – and three age categories – Junior (11-14), Intermediate (15-16) and Senior (17-18).

Science/Maths includes the broad field of natural, medical and social sciences and mathematics for projects focused on discovery, exploration and explanation, while Engineering/Technology is focused on projects based on concept, design, development and manufacture.

The regional heats and the Big Bang Fair South East are organised by STEM Sussex, the STEM outreach department at the University of Brighton, in partnership with Central Sussex College and Crawley Borough Council. Headline event sponsor is CGG, the world’s leading geophysical company.

Jo McKinney, STEM Sussex Project Manager, said: “Success in NSEC brings considerable prestige not only to students but to their school or college. It also encourages fellow students to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and to consider STEM-related career paths.”

For more information about NSEC and the Big Bang Fair South East, visit www.crawleystemfest.co.uk, telephone 01273 641874 or email [email protected]

Report and picture contributed by CrawleySTEMfest.