Twelve teams of students from UK schools have been announced as finalists of the BP Ultimate Challenge, set to be held at the Science Museum in London on Monday 12th March.
The national competition, launched in partnership with STEM Learning in June 2017, challenges UK students aged 11-14 to put their science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills to the test by tackling real-world energy problems.
This year’s competition theme – My Sustainable Future – challenged young people to develop solutions to one of three real-world challenges: Handy Hydro, Parched Plants or Brilliant Biogas. All the challenges were designed to encourage students to think about how they could help to reduce natural resource use or bring down greenhouse gas emissions.
Schools from around the country took part in the competition for a chance to win an Ultimate STEM experience and £500 for their school.
The twelve finalist teams will present their work to an expert judging panel at the Science Museum. Following their presentations, all finalists will have the chance to participate in a day of fun science activities.
This year’s final coincides with the Year of Engineering, a year-long campaign, launched in January 2018 to tackle the engineering skills gap and widen the pool of young people who join the profession. BP is supporting the campaign throughout the year with a variety of events and experiences and will also be producing a range of engineering-themed resources for the BP Education Service website.
Samantha Bulkeley, UK Schools Education Manager at BP, said: “I would like to congratulate all of the teams that have reached the Ultimate STEM Challenge final. During the judging process, we were impressed to see how students from all over the UK used problem-solving and teamwork skills to develop their own unique responses to this year’s real-world challenges.”
“The finalist entries all stood out for their creativity and innovation in helping to create a more sustainable future. We look forward to celebrating the hard work of all the students and seeing their projects come to life at the finals in March.”
The twelve finalists are:
- Bethany School, Cranbrook
- Bolton School Girls Division, Bolton
- Bredon Hill Academy, Evesham
- Colyton Grammar School, Colyton (4 teams)
- Interhigh Education (online)
- Oakhill School and Nursery, Clitheroe
- Pensby High School, Wirral
- St Peter’s Church of England Aided School, Exeter
- Walton Priory Middle School, Stone
For more information the Ultimate STEM Challenge, click here.