Lumen Christi are '˜best in class' at STEM competition

As part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival, whizz kids competed in Titanic Belfast’s STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Maths) Quest North West Regional Heat, in partnership with the Survitec Group, in a bid to become the North’s top team.

The STEM Quest heat saw Key Stage 3 post primary students (years 8-10) compete and test their knowledge against their peers from across the region.

Lumen Christi College proved to be ‘Best in Class’ in the University Challenge style competition. The winning teams, the runners-up from across the heats will now compete in a Grand Final at Titanic Belfast on February 20.

Lumen Christi Physics Teacher Mildred Gill said: “STEM Quest is a great opportunity for the students to come out and meet pupils from other schools. The competition has really helped our pupils develop an interest in STEM and they love the competitive element. The pupils are thrilled to have won – you can see it in their faces. STEM Quest is a wonderful initiative and is really exciting for pupils and teachers alike.”

Siobhan McCartney, Titanic Belfast’s Learning and Outreach Manager, added: “The search for Northern Ireland’s best Key Stage 3 STEM quiz team is now well and truly on. With many teams taking part, this was definitely a nail-biting heat. Huge congratulations to Lumen Christi College who triumphed on the day, as well as the runners-up who we may see again in the final. We were delighted to see so many schools, teachers and pupils get involved and the standard of all the teams was excellent. As the future need for Northern Irish STEM graduates grows, we were delighted to see young people engage with science in a fun and interactive way.”