Students of Mary’s Secondary School, Mallow Anna Duggan, Leah Sullivan, Alvy Fitzgerald ,Layla O’Connor, Doireann Dempsey ,Delilah Afriyie ,Bernice Cronin, Amy O’Mahony , Anna O’Brien ,Aimee Renton ,Katie Mae O’Neill, Grace Goulding and Sarah Stewart pictured as All five projects submitted by the students from St Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow to the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition received awards or commendations from the judges. This is a remarkable feat for the school as over 2,000 projects were submitted for the competition, with just over 25% progressing to the finals.
Special Award
Alvy Fitzgerald, Anna Duggan, Leah O’Sullivan won the Teagasc Award for their project “An Investigation into using Total Leaf-Area as a predictive tool for determining below-ground biomass at all stages in the growth of selected Root-Crop Plants”. They also won the Junior Group for the Biological & Ecological category.
Category Awards
Sarah Stewart and Grace Goulding were senior group winners of the Chemical, Physical & Mathematical Sciences category with their project “Analysing Temporal Variations in Quasar Flux: A Python-based approach to satellite and observatory images”.
Delilah Afriyie, Layla O’Connor, Doireann Dempsey won the Junior Group in the Technology category with their project “Development and evaluation of a wearable distress detection and response system for open water swimmers”.
Amy O’Mahony, Berenice Cronin came second in the Health & Well-Being category with their project “Boosting Brainpower: An investigation into the effect of ‘movement breaks’ on student cognition, wellbeing, and academic performance”.
Highly Commended
Aimee Renton, Anna O Brien, Katie Mae O’Neill were
BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition
All five projects submitted by students from St Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow to the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition received awards or commendations from the judges. This is a remarkable feat for the school, as over 2,000 projects were submitted for the competition, with just over 25% progressing to the finals.
Special Award
Alvy Fitzgerald, Anna Duggan and Leah O’Sullivan won the Teagasc Award for their project ‘An Investigation into using Total Leaf-Area as a predictive tool for determining below-ground biomass at all stages in the growth of selected Root-Crop Plants’. They also won the Junior Group in the Biological and Ecological category.
Category Awards
Sarah Stewart and Grace Goulding were senior group winners of the Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences category with their project ‘Analysing Temporal Variations in Quasar Flux: A Python-based approach to satellite and observatory images’, while Delilah Afriyie, Layla O’Connor and Doireann Dempsey won the Junior Group in the Technology category with their project ‘Development and evaluation of a wearable distress detection and response system for open water swimmers’. Amy O’Mahony and Berenice Cronin came second in the Health and Wellbeing category with their project ‘Boosting Brainpower: An investigation into the effect of ‘movement breaks’ on student cognition, wellbeing, and academic performance’.
Highly Commended
Aimee Renton, Anna O’Brien and Katie Mae O’Neill were highly commended in the Intermediate Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences category for their project An investigation into micro-plastic degradation in aquatic habitats using UV and heat energy, and their potential for reducing potable water contamination’.
Speaking at a special ceremony at St Mary’s Secondary School on Monday, Principal Dr Andrea Murphy said: “We’re delighted to celebrate an extraordinary achievement that highlights the excellence, determination, and creativity demonstrated by our students at this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
“St. Mary’s Mallow has delivered a truly stellar performance this year. St. Mary’s succeeded in having five projects reach the finals – a feat that reflects the talent and dedication of our students. 60% of the participants at the exhibition were girls – a true testament to the growing strength of young women in STEM. Within this context, our school has stood out as a beacon of innovation and success.”
“Behind every student’s success is a guiding light. The dedication, expertise, and unwavering support of Mr. Coote, and Mr. Timmons, Ms Russell and Ms. Roche have played an instrumental role in nurturing this talent and encouraging our students,” she said.