Margaret River Senior High School Year 10 science students win State challenge

A squad of Margaret River Senior High School students have come out the best in the State.

The 26-strong Year 10 team stomped the competition at the University of NSW’s Science and Engineering challenge in Australind this month.

After winning the August 2 contest, with five of eight MRSHS teams trumping in the individual challenges, the squad was now raising funds to defend their WA title in Bendigo in Victoria at the National Championships in October.

Teacher Andrea West saluted her young charges for their dedication and enthusiasm, as well as impressive smarts.

“I’m so proud of our students,” she told the Times.

“They absolutely threw themselves into the challenges on the day.

“Many of the challenges are activities the students have never seen before and needed a fair bit of ingenuity to figure out a solution.”

The competition saw the squad form into teams to take on individual challenges.

The eight tasks involved different science-oriented puzzles.

Challenges included building a buggy to travel on the pitted surface of Mars, designing earthquake-proof towers, building suspension bridges, and even designing a robot hand from string and straws.

More than 70 schools competed in total.

Ms West said the event required the students to “think outside the box”.

“We are currently in the process of putting together the trip and seeking ways to fund such a larger expense,” she said.

“We have a very short timeframe, as due to COVID-19, the WA section of the competition was delayed.”

While the students were keen, many faced financial barriers and would be raising funds independently to fund the trip which included three teachers.