10 schools vie for honours at BT Young Scientist event

Students from 10 Meath schools are in Dublin this week, exhibiting their projects at the 2012 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. A total of 12 projects from the 10 schools have qualified for this year's competition and students from Athboy Community School, Boyne Community School, Trim; Coláiste na hInse, Laytown; Eureka Secondary School, Kells; Franciscan College, Gormanston; Loreto St Michael's Secondary School, Navan; O'Carolan College, Nobber; Ratoath College, St Oliver Post-Primary School, Oldcastle, and St Patrick's Classical School, Navan, are all participating this week. BT has indicated it received a record number of entries this year - 1,743 ideas entered by 3,842 students from 32 counties. Students from Athboy Community School have entered a project on 'Imitation - Trying to suppress instinct' in the Junior Social and Behavioural Sciences category, while a group from Boyne Community School has entered a project in the Intermediate Technology section on 'OxyHydrogen - improving fuel efficiency'. A group of their fellow Trim students have entered the same category with an 'Investigation into power balance technology'. Coláiste na hInse has entered a group project in the Junior Social and Behavioural Sciences on 'How to make your study time more effective', while 'Measuring stress and mental health in Leaving Certificate students' is the individual project entered by Lydia Igoe of Eureka Secondary School in the Intermediate Social and Behavioural Sciences category. Students from Franciscan College have submitted a project investigating how different diets (high carbohydrate, protein, fats) affects the body's physical performance in the Intermediate Biological and Ecological category, while 'What makes a song a hit' is the question posed by students from Loreto St Michael's Secondary School in their project in the Social and Behavioural Sciences section. A further group of students from this school have entered a project in the same category which investigates 'Why do we hate public speaking?' A group from O'Carolan College has also entered the Intermediate Social and Behavioural Sciences with 'Teenagers: A study of authority'. Mark Caffrey from Ratoath College has entered the Individual Junior Social and Behavioural Sciences category with his project on 'What influences a young person's political opinions'. 'Does a nervous rider make a nervous horse?' is the question posed by students from St Oliver Post-Primary in their entry in the Junior Social and Behavioural Sciences category. St Patrick's Classical School has an entry in the Junior Technology Section entitled 'Are you for real? A fitness comparison between virtual and actual sporting activity'. Competition to make it to the RDS this week was particularly high, with judges remarking on the impressive nature of entries this year. The 2012 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition runs until this coming Saturday.