Westmeath students represent at Young Scientist Competition

The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, said he was “blown away” by the 40 Westmeath projects on display at this year’s Stripe Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in the RDS. With 40 projects, Westmeath ranked just behind Dublin and Cork in terms of overall participation.

The Minister spent two hours touring local projects at the exhibition yesterday, meeting students from eight Westmeath secondary schools, including St Joseph’s, Rochfortbridge, Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan, Athlone Community College, Loreto College Mullingar, Marist College, Our Lady’s Bower, Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar, and Moate Community School.

Minister Burke said he was particularly proud to discover that his former school, Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar, had 18 projects on display - the highest number from any school in the country - with Moate Community School also strongly represented, showcasing 10 projects.

“I was delighted to attend the Stripe Young Scientist Exhibition in the RDS yesterday and was blown away by the standard of projects on display,” said Minister Burke.

“Westmeath continues to punch above its weight in this competition, with 40 local projects on display throughout the RDS - the third highest of any county nationally - accounting for almost 7% of all projects.

“It was incredible to see my old school, Coláiste Mhuire, with 18 projects on display. This is a credit to the leadership of Eva Acton over the last 10 years and the school’s strong focus on STEM subjects.

“These students have worked extremely hard on their projects over the last few months, and they presented them with great skill and enthusiasm. I want to thank all the local students for taking the time to meet me yesterday and talk me through their individual projects.

“I also want to thank the teachers involved for guiding and supporting students through what is a very exciting and formative experience.”