Larbert High pupils reach finals of UK science and engineering competition

Whizz kids from Larbert High School have been chosen to take part in the finals of a UK science and engineering competition.
By Jonathon Reilly
Published 25th Feb 2020, 10:19 BST
Updated 25th Feb 2020, 10:47 BST
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The four teams, made up primarily of S2 pupils, were selected after they devised exciting projects which all caught the eye of a judging panel.

After winning online heats, the quartet were then invited to contest The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition.

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Isla MacDonald, Harvey Main and Jay Sinclair will be among the Larbert High entrants after the trio created a fun and educational Cyber Attack app to teach youngsters about internet safety.

Some of the Larbert High pupils chosen to compete in finals of a UK science and engineering contest in March 2020. Pictured are the team members of the A Better Future: Electronic Textbooks projectSome of the Larbert High pupils chosen to compete in finals of a UK science and engineering contest in March 2020. Pictured are the team members of the A Better Future: Electronic Textbooks project
Some of the Larbert High pupils chosen to compete in finals of a UK science and engineering contest in March 2020. Pictured are the team members of the A Better Future: Electronic Textbooks project

They’ll be joined by Lewis McCulloch, Thomas McMillan, Rebekah Gray, Tallulah Ferguson and Ryan Honeyman who, concerned by the rate of global deforestation, looked into how to best address the issue in a project named Rebuilding Our Forests.

Lucia Henry, Daniel Ross, Harry Tailford and David Taylor-Stewart also earned a place in the finals for their work on a project called A Better Future: Electronic Textbooks in which the students designed a programme to make education more accessible to young people.

The fourth team consists of Meaghan Roy and Alex Mardon from S5 whose project, Sign Language Gloves, is an invention comprising a partial gloves and wristband combination which translates British Sign Language into text on a phone screen via Bluetooth.

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The teams will be invited to attend the competition finals of The Big Bang Fair at Birmingham’s NEC next month to vie for top prizes including GSK UK Young Engineer and GSK UK Young Scientist of the Year.

Dr Hilary Leevers, EngineeringUK chief executive, said: “The teams from Larbert High School really impressed the judges with their projects and we’re excited to see how they do at the UK finals.

“It is a huge achievement to progress to this stage of the competition and they should be incredibly proud to take up their place and compete at The Big Bang Fair.

“Going into its 12th year in 2020, The Big Bang Fair continues to be a great source of STEM inspiration for young people, providing an amazing opportunity for young visitors, their teachers and parents to get hands-on with a wide range of activities, workshops and shows, and engage in meaningful career conversations with professionals, all designed to bring classroom learning to life and inspire the next generation.”