Lochalsh pupils design schools of the future

The Glenelg team with their model and presentation

Pupils from Glenelg and Loch Duich primary schools designed new sustainable school buildings as part of a Climate Smarter competition and science event in Inverness earlier this month. 

The event was described as a Highland celebration of STEM (Science Technology Engineering, Maths) and was created by the Young Engineers and Science Clubs group.  

The annual STEM celebration was held at the UHI Forestry campus in Balloch alongside events in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

There were more than 70 pupils taking part in the competition overall, at both primary and secondary school age, separated into teams of six. 

Firstly, the pupils took part in a round of 10-minute STEM challenges, which were set by 10 local industries and tested their STEM knowledge and problem solving, before the main competition began. 

The  Climate Smarter challenge – which was the main project – then saw the children present their ‘school of the future’ design, which they had worked on for a few weeks before the event. 

Kate MacArthur, who is the headteacher at both Glenelg and Loch Duich primary schools, said: “Our Glenelg team were runners-up in the competition, which included both primary and secondary schools. They presented their ideas to the Young Engineers and Science Clubs judge, who said that the Highland entries were of the highest standard in Scotland.”

As well as the competitive element of the day, there were talks, displays and workshops for the young people to take part in, which was something the pupils enjoyed and were inspired by, Kate MacArthur explained.

“A demonstration from the UK Space Academy was the most spectacular event of the day as they used ethanol to fuel a rocket, but the pupils also said they enjoyed presenting their own work and some said they really enjoyed the different industry challenges which were set for groups of three pupils at a time. On the way home in the car, one pupil said he wanted to become a forestry manager and another said that she was interested in the Space Industry UK – obviously the career talks had made an impression on them.” 

Article by Daniel Cullen