STUDENTS from Minehead Middle School saw their hard work rewarded as prizes were awarded for the entries for a science competition sponsored by Ada in Porlock.

The pupils were assessed by a panel of external experts in science and engineering for their work on ‘looping and repeating’, which is fundamental in all areas of nature, science, and engineering.

The youngsters could look as broadly as they wished to understand how such scientific principles worked, or could be used in engineering.

Their work ranged from the lifecycle of insects to the unbounded nature of the universe, with pupils working individually or in teams and delivering presentations on their work as presentations, booklets, physical models, and software programmes, just as Ada Lovelace would have done.

The key stage three team award was won by a practical demonstration of ‘slime’, while the key stage two team award was for a physics description of a rollercoaster, a popular theme for ‘looping’.

Science teacher Charlotte Price said: “For our first science competition I have been greatly impressed by the level of participation from our students and the quality of the work, both in terms of understanding the science and in presenting the ideas in imaginative ways.”

The competition was supported by the newly-founded Ada in Porlock organisation, which is encouraging interest and uptake of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in local schools, using the legacy of Ada Lovelace, considered the world’s first computer programmer, who lived near Porlock.

Co-ordinating activities for Ada in Porlock was Dr Stephen Colson, who said: “It is been hugely encouraging to see so many pupils wanting to work on science projects in their own time and we look forward to continuing this with Minehead Middle School next year and expanding it throughout the Beacon Trust schools in the area.”