Great Southern Grammar girls score a win in Statewide STEM challenge

Great Southern Grammar has been announced as a winner of the BHP Future Ready STEM Challenge.

Aimed to promote STEM subjects, the competition involved students in Years 3-10 from across the State, taking part in challenges developed by education design firm NoTosh.

The entrants chose their challenge — accessible to students of different abilities and schools with varying resources.

The competition finished recently and a design by five Year 9 students from GSG was announced as the judges’ choice winner.

GSG’s learning and enrichment co-ordinator Angelica Ross said the girls did a spectacular job.

“Basically, BHP had five different missions that they could choose from — all to do with how we could reuse mines and things like that — and the girls combined three of them and looked at creating an underground transport hub,” she said.

“They were very keen to get stuck into the project and after a few hurdles and ideas, I think the one they came up with was super practical and a well-deserved winner.

The judges said the project “stood out because of the way the team critically and creatively considered how to connect many disused mine sites, rather than focus on just one.”

The winning team of Maya Anning, Stella Mellows, Jasmin Boyett, Zoe Slatter and Jana Kriek are all close friends, who share a love for science.

Ms Anning said she was stoked but surprised her team won.

“I think it just shows that we’re much more capable than we thought, because none of us were expecting it,” she said.

“I’m so proud of me and my friends because we tried so hard and it’s nice to know that we were recognised for it,” Miss Mellows said.

Ms Boyett said she would love to pursue a science career in the future. Each of the students will receive a STEM-related prize valued at $500, and GSG will get $10,000 for STEM-related equipment and resources.

Ms Ross said the school would discuss how students involved would like to spend the money.