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Deloitte and Parasport invite students to compete at the STEM Challenge 8 Final

Community College Whitstable, from Kent, has won the most recent STEM Challenge! The competition asked students from across the UK to work in teams to research and propose Paralympic Sports facilities to be made available in their local area.

STEM Challenges are a series of competitions designed  to encourage young people aged 11-14  to use the skills learnt in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths lessons to help prepare for the  London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games.  STEMNET (The Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Network) works in partnership with major organizations to nationally manage each Challenge for UK Secondary Schools.

STEM Challenge 8, supported byDeloitte – the official professional services provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and co-creators of Parasport – asked students to find out where and how more disabled people could take part in Paralympic sports.

Following regional competitions, seven schools from across the UK were invited to the national final at the Royal College of Surgeons on Wednesday 11th January. Each team of students aged 11-14 competed in a Dragon’s Den style pitch before a panel of expert judges. Finalists included:

·         Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, West Midlands

·         The Community College Whitstable, South East

·         The Nelson Thomlinson School, North West

·         Two teams from Parklands High School, North West

·         Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, North West

·         Washington School, North East

The winning team from Community College Whitstable were commended for their ability to identify a multitude of disabilities and communicate ways to improve inclusion for these groups through an impressive presentation. The team won £1,000 worth of equipment for their STEM Club and an experience prize awarded by Deloitte and Parasport. Second place was awarded to The Nelson Thomlinson School, Cumbria who received £750, the third place team from Sandbach High School from Cheshire were awarded £500.  The team from Washington School, Northumberland & Tyne and Wear, also received a ‘Highly Commended’ mention from the judges for demonstrating particularly excellent teamwork.

Nick Heyworth, Parasport and STEM Challenge 8 Head Judge:

“The aim of this Challenge was to discover ways in which we can help change perceptions and opportunities for disability in sport. The scope of thought and level of effort that all teams have demonstrated is incredibly impressive. Many of these plans have the ability to affect change in local communities and I hope that these wonderful ideas may be implemented in the run up to, and beyond, London 2012”

Will Ramsey, Wheelchair Basketball Player and Challenge judge:

“We were looking for creative and innovative ideas towards solving the issues of adapting sports and designing facilities for use by those with disabilities across the range.  It was impressive to see how young students had engaged with The Olympic and Paralympic Values to develop some truly inspirational ideas.”

Kirsten Bodley, Chief Executive, STEMNET:

"The STEM Challenges allow students to develop and apply valuable STEM skills to real-life, working situations. STEMNET were delighted to partner with Deloitte and Parasport to encourage students to find ways to widen participation in sport and make local facilities accessible for everyone. All of our finalists were incrediblyenthusiastic about their entries and it was amazing to see students working so well together and supporting each other as a team”

(Third place: Sandbach High School)

The STEM Challenges have received the London 2012 Inspire Mark and are part of Get Set, the London 2012 education programme. The first STEM Challenge required students to consider some of the steps involved in designing a National Handball Centre for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the second was to design a glove suitable for rowing, canoeing or sailing. The third STEM Challenge invited students to explore approaches to anti-doping laboratory techniques. The fourth Challenge asked students to pitch their plans for sustainable travel from their schools to forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Game venues. STEM Challenges 5 and 6 focused on designs for leading GB paratriathlete, Jimmy Goddard and paralympian Rachel Morris. STEM Challenge 7, in partnership with BT, asked students to design an app for mobile phones which could be used by visitors to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

(Highly commended: Washington School)

STEM Challenge 9, supported byThe Paralympic Torch Relay Team – who aim to re-energise the nation after the Olympic Games and build excitement across the UK in the run up to the Paralympic Games – challenges 11-14 year olds to create a spark which lights the Paralympic Flame through the energy ofhuman endeavour. Visit www.stemchallenges.net for further details.