Three awards for Castlepollard students at Scifest

Students from Castlepollard Community College flew the flag for North Westmeath at SciFest2014, held last week at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT).
Three teams from the college won awards on the day, in an event which attracted 237 entries.
Castlepollard students Denis Farrell, Rian Fullam and Eric Leonard won second place in the Junior Technology Group Category with their project, “Weight propulsion and aerodynamics of flight”, while their schoolmates Eric Fitzpatrick, Matthew Doyle and Ryan McLoughlin came in third place with their project, “The bright light”.
In the Bimeda Veterinary Awards, Jennifer Carroll and Jenny Kelly, came third with their investigation into how horses keep warm in wind.
More than 460 second-level students from 21 schools in the midlands attended the event, making it the largest SciFest that AIT has hosted to date, and the most popular one in the country.
Sheila Porter, SciFest CEO said: “Since SciFest was launched nationwide six years ago it has gone from strength to strength. I am continually amazed by the passion and dedication demonstrated by the students. SciFest is a celebration of STEM subjects. It encourages students to push the boundaries of the classroom, use their knowledge of science, investigate and be creative in their projects. The achievement of these students is an inspiration to us all and is a tribute to them and to the hard work and support of their teachers.”