Success for two Cheshire pupils in North West school science competition  

Budding young scientists from across the region have been battling it out to be crowned winners of the prestigious North West Schools Science Competition.

The competition, which showcases tomorrow’s top scientists, is hosted by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) in conjunction with Cheshire’s Catalyst Science Discovery Centre.

Now in its second year, the competition, for pupils in Years 7 and 8, attracted over 70 entries from across Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.

The competition began in September by inviting students to write a 500 word essay on why they want to be a scientist when they grow up. From there a 12-strong shortlist was drawn up to participate in the ‘Competition Final’ held at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, Cheshire, last night.

Each finalist took it in turn to deliver a short presentation to an expert panel of judges from scientific, business and educational backgrounds on why they wanted to be scientists when they were older, before going on to answer a series of questions from the panel.

Judges praised the high standard of entries before selecting a winner from Year 7 and a winner from Year 8.

 

Ellie Herbert, 11, a pupil at Cheadle Hulme School in Cheadle delivered an impressive presentation to the judging panel to be crowned the Year 7 winner.

 Ellie said: "I am so happy to have won, I want to be a scientist because there are so many different bits to it you can explore and there are never any wrong answers."

 Maisie Hogan, 13, a pupil at Queen's Park High School in Chester also impressed the judges to be named the winner in the Year 8 category.

 Maisie said: "I was really shocked when my name was called, my Science teacher told our class about the competition and I decided to enter because my dream job is to become a scientist and help people."

Ellie and Maisie each received an iPod Touch and £250 for their school to spend on science equipment. In addition each winner’s class receives free entry to the exciting Flash Bang – What a Reaction! event at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in March 2011.

The North West Schools Science Competition aims to encourage more young people in the region to consider science as a career.

 Geoffrey Piper, Chief Executive of the NWBLT and Chairman of the Judging Panel, said: “The second North West Schools Science Competition has been a tremendous success. The standard of the entries was extremely high and all of the finalists here tonight have done very well indeed. Congratulations to all the competitors and especially to our winners.

 “These competitions celebrate and showcase the talented youngsters we have here in the region and we hope the annual North West Schools Science Competition will inspire more young people to pursue careers in science and innovation.”

 Stephen Youd-Thomas, Director of Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, added: "As the Northwest has such a tremendous scientific heritage it's both rewarding and encouraging to see so many young people demonstrate a passion and flair for science. We've been delighted to support the North West Schools Science Competition again this year and we're looking forward to hosting the winners and their classmates at our popular "Flash Bang - What a reaction" event in March where we'll show that science is fun as well as vital to all our lives."

 The North West Schools Science Competition was supported by Chemicals Northwest, Business in the Community, the Museum of Science and Industry and Active Profile. 

For more information about the competition visit www.nwblt.co.uk.