The Best School ROI Award resented by NAPD president Anton O’Mahony to Shannen Foley on behalf of St Mary’s Secondary School Macroom. Credit: Fennell Photography
Macroom students proved their scientific ability at last weekend’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition at Dublin’s RDS, where several local students received awards and commendations for the innovative projects they carried out.
St Mary’s Secondary School was the toast of the town, with the school itself receiving massive recognition when it was honoured with the NAPD (The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals) Best School Republic of Ireland award.
A student of the school, Áine O’Leary, was the recipient of one the exhibition’s prized special awards for her work in the junior individual strand of the Social & Behavioural Sciences category. Áine’s work comprised of a project titled ‘Assessing Uptake and Impact’, which studied the implementation of free lunch schemes in primary schools across Ireland.
The pupil also received a high commendation from judges for the work she carried out.
A duo of St Mary’s students, Éabha Ní Chonaola and Cara O’Brien, were also highly commended in the intermediate group category of the Social & Behavioural Sciences. Their project examined perceptions and attitudes amongst the Irish public, landowners and farmers towards birds of prey in Ireland through a case study on hen harrier conservation in Baile Bhuirne.
Biological & Ecological senior group Ella White and Amy McCullagh received an award for the display they setup at the convention, which showcased their project ‘Oh Deer’. The study investigated how deer overpopulation might be biodiversity, agriculture and road safety’s ‘biggest rut’.
De La Salle College students also got in on the act of achieving success at the exhibition, as Finn Yore and Simon Condon received a high commendation for their work in intermediate group category of the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical domain.
The boys questioned ‘What makes a rocket fly straight’ with their investigation into the effect of stabilisation on the flight path of a model rocket.
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