Ladies' College teams reach national finals

The budding scientists behind the projects had all carried out experiments as part of their science curriculum at the school and as a result earned a bronze Crest (Centre for Research in Engineering, Science and Technology) award.

Head of science Dr Karen Marshall said that usually that would be as far as students progressed, due to the amount of work involved in earning a silver award.

But a group of students approached her and asked if they could take on the challenge, which meant they had to do a total of 30 hours' work on their projects outside school hours.

After receiving their work, Dr Marshall submitted the projects to the Crest judges for consideration and the students were encouraged to progress their work further.

It led to an unprecedented situation where all three earned silver awards and were put forward for the Big Bang regional competition, subsequently earning a place in the national finals.

This is the first time any team from the school has achieved this and, said Dr Marshall, probably the first time any team from the Channel Islands has made it this far.

'The judges were looking for innovation and good solid science investigation. That's what it's all about,' she said.

'Having the opportunity to put theory into practice has been great fun and has given the girls an idea of just how

interesting a career in the sciences could be.

'The project has also helped the students develop technical skills and learn how to work well together as a team.'

The three teams will be heading to the NEC in Birmingham in March to compete in the national finals, and while Dr Marshall said they would love to come back with an award, the experience itself would be something special for the students.

The fair takes place from 15 to 18 March and includes many presentations on science and technology themes aimed at young people, as well as guests including Professor Brian Cox.