Go4SET 2017

Two groups of S2 pupils from Grove Academy took part in this year’s Go4SET competition, which culminated in the Celebration and Assessment Day on 1st March at The Space, Dundee and Angus College.

Go4SET is a project that focuses on the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – and is based around an environmental theme. Over the course of twelve weeks, each team had to conduct research, develop a plan, and build a model. They also had to produce a display to illustrate their progress.

Our teams were mentored by John Curran from Tayside Contracts. He arranged for the pupils to have a company visit to experience a day in industry. On the visit, they witnessed a road being resurfaced, visited Riverside Recycling Centre and visited a working quarry.

Team 1, The Great Current – Morgan Scott, Katie Walker, James Prudom, Tania Iqbal, Anna Whitelaw and Rachel Anderson - chose the topic ‘Our Electronics Environment’. They had to investigate the changes in technology in the UK in the last 50 years and develop an idea for something that could be implemented in school to improve the experience of pupils. They chose to develop a ‘Table-t’, which is a touchscreen table. It would be powered by an energy-generating floor, which turns kinetic energy into electrical energy. Pupils would also be given headphones on which they could listen to lessons at their own pace and block out background noise.

Team 2, the Renewable Growers – Jack Anderson, Rachael Birnie, Lucy Waddington, Stella Waddington and Grace Sellarajah - chose to carry out their project on the topic ‘Our School is an Island’. They were tasked with coming up with a school on a remote island which could be completely sustainable without mainland intervention. They chose to focus on food and energy production. Their design encompassed a rooftop garden, where food could be grown, and a biomass plant for generating energy from waste food.

Both teams were given very positive feedback from the assessors at the Celebration and Assessment Day. They developed invaluable skills such as teamwork, presenting, and time-management. They will all receive a silver CREST award for their work – this is not usually attainable until S4!

Well done to both teams on their hard work and commitment to the project.