Triple TeenTech Success for Greenock School
An Inverclyde Council secondary school has secured a trio of top prizes at a prestigious UK competition.
It is the fifth year in a row that pupils from Notre Dame High in Greenock have reached the finals in London and come home as category winners.
Sophie Tucker (13) and Grace Deveney (13) won the Education Category with 'My Note Learner' – the experience of a personal music tutor in an app.
Aimee Dougan (13), Niamh Day (14) and Eve Mitchel (13) took first place in the Manufacturing category with ' Ez Spread' – a product designed to spread butter without tearing the bread.
Karen Kelly was named Teacher of the Year. She said: “TeenTech has really lifted the profile of our department within the school and the authority. Over the past few years we have been able to reinvest the prize money to buy new resources that have allowed us to introduce engineering science into the curriculum and offer it at National 5 and Higher level. The uptake in our senior classes has increased by around 300% and the pupil experience within our department has been completely transformed.”
Sophie Tucker said: “Presenting our idea to experts and receiving such great feedback has been such a boost to my confidence.”
Grace Deveney said: “This experience has really opened my eyes to different careers out there and will hopefully encourage more girls to get involved in Science and Engineering.”
The TeenTech awards are designed to help young teenagers see the wide range of career possibilities in Science, Engineering and Technology and were set up by former Tomorrow’s World presenter Maggie Philbin who is also the Chief Executive Officer.
She said: “I am absolutely thrilled to see Notre Dame School not only win two awards for impressive projects done by their students but also for the work of a truly outstanding teacher to be justly celebrated. Karen has done so much to ensure that a whole year group benefits from our initiative - not only those who reach the final.
“We have run the TeenTech Awards for five years and every year the standard of entries from this school evidences the quality of teaching and also the willingness of staff to go the extra mile and to ensure their students are equipped for the world of tomorrow. I know the judges were impressed by the sheer commitment of this teacher to her students.”
Ruth Seabrook MA SFHEA from University of Roehampton who was one of the judges for Teacher of the Year said: “I was hugely impressed with the depth of the curriculum planning for this initiative that has been embedded into the S2 year. The school is not only taking part themselves but working within a community of schools in the area to encourage others to take on board the competitions and to encourage the pupils to think about taking up careers in the STEM areas. The additional time and dedication from the teachers is overwhelming and it shows how dedicated they are to their pupils.”
In December, Notre Dame’s commitment to TeenTech was recognised when the school was awarded Gold status as a TeenTech Centre for Innovation and Creativity - one of only six schools in the UK.
Education Vice Convener Councillor Martin Brennan said: “Yet again our young people have proved their innovation and imagination on a national stage and I would like to offer them my congratulations and thanks for championing Inverclyde and showing the rest of the country what we can achieve.”
Karen Kelly added: “We are extremely proud of the hard work of our pupils and it is great to see their commitment pay off. Despite the fact that every pupil works on a project, I think that fact that it has always been girls who have won has been down to the fact they are passionate about their products and determined to succeed. One of the big national targets at the moment is to raise the awareness of STEM careers and in particular to try to involve girls. TeenTech has certainly achieved this in Notre Dame.”
All of the pupils who have won their category return to Buckingham Palace later this year to be presented with their certificate by TeenTech's Patron HRH Prince Andrew.
My Note Learner is an app that offers all of the benefits of a Music Tutor in the comfort of your own home. Its features include: Demonstration of notes (finger Placement), note play back, note analysis, tuner, sheet music library, ability to recognise a song and source the sheet music for it and much more. This app is perfect for any musician from beginner to experienced and offers help in many instruments.
Easy Spread is a product that finally ends the struggle of spreading butter without tearing the bread. This new condiment dispenser ensures even distribution of its contents whilst also offering other benefits. These include a comfortable alternative to holding a knife for Arthritis sufferers, easy to measure portions for those on strict diet plan and the ability to refill and use with a range of condiments.