Students win regional STEM competition

A group of exceptional students at Ormiston Six Villages Academy, part of Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT), have won a regional STEM competition.

STEMFEST is a social action competition created by OAT, which gives students the opportunity to consider and act upon social change. Across the Trust, teams of students are tasked with devising a social action project, securing its basis in research, delivering the aims of the project and evaluating its impact.

Ormiston Six Villages Academy’s STEMFEST team, known as the ‘Fun Guys’ came first for their project on growing mushrooms. The project looked at how they could use recycled tea and coffee bags to grow mushrooms.

To tie in a sustainable factor, the students have been using old tea bags from the staff room to support the academy in its mission to reduce waste, while also creating a more cost-effective way to source food.

Second place was also awarded to a group of students at the academy named ‘Happy Pet Parade.’ The team’s idea was to create a small cube device which features various anxiety tools to help those who are feeling anxious or stressed.  

Following the regional heat, both teams will be invited to the national STEMFEST competition where they will be competing against 43 other academies for first prize. The students are already working hard on developing their projects and are looking forward to the next stage of STEMFEST.

Paul Slaughter, Principal at Ormiston Six Villages Academy, said:

“I am incredibly proud of all the hard work of our students who took part in this year’s STEMFEST. It was great to see our students so enthusiastic to create innovative ideas that would have a positive impact on society.

“We are committed to showcasing to our students the range of exciting pathways available to them within STEM and the ways their knowledge can be used to drive social action.”