ABBEY TECHNOLOGISTS WIN TRIP TO AMERICA AT BT YOUNG SCIENTIST COMPETITION

Third year pupils Adam Magill and Matthew McCartney are the toast of the Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Newry when they won the trip of a lifetime to America at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Competition in the RDS, Dublin at the Awards ceremony on Friday night last. The two boys had been working on their project with their teacher Mr. Gerald Savage over the last few months – including some late nights in the Abbey Technology block during the Christmas holidays! The project was called ‘Moto xtra safe’ and was a unique design that aided the safety of anyone driving a quad. The driver couldn’t start the quad with the ignition key until he/she put on the helmet. An electronic circuit in the helmet was activated when a switch was pressed by putting the headgear on. This in turn transmitted a radio signal to its receiver, which was located at the motor on the quad, enabling the wheels to be turned. Another safety feature of this design was if the driver came off the quad while in transit then the motor driving the wheels was switched off, as the signal located in the helmet was interrupted. This addressed the problem of quad users getting injured when coming off the machine as it could continue to travel over them after the accident.

When the two boys were called up to the stage to collect a trophy and a cheque for £300 for winning the Technology Junior Group Category early in the ceremony, little did they realise that they would be trekking back to the podium to receive one of the top awards from Mary Hanafin T.D. Minister for Education and Science. The Analog Devices Award is presented to an individual or group for outstanding work exhibited in the Technology category. The prize consists of a trophy plus an all expenses paid trip to America, visiting the Analog Devices Headquarters in Boston and their plant in San Francisco as the guests of Analog Devices. During this trip, which shall be during the Summer break, Adam and Matthew shall have the opportunity to visit third level institutions at the cutting edge of technological research and sample the diversity of American culture. As part of their prize, Analogue Devices also donate £2,500 to the Abbey Grammar towards its Technology equipment fund.

Four other projects were invited to the competition from the Abbey and they won ‘Highly Commended’ and ‘Display’ Awards. Christopher Harte competed in the Intermediate Individual section with his project ‘Anti-attack-box’. This technological box attached to the front door automatically extinguished a firework when pushed through the letterbox. Mr. Tony Mooney assisted him with this project. Patrick Burns competed in the Junior Individual section with his project ‘Automatic hazard system’. His project not only warned oncoming drivers at night that there was a broken down car ahead but also lit up the wheel area so that a puncture could be fixed. Mr.Gerald Savage assisted him with this project.Niall McCartan and Niall Cunningham competed in the Intermediate Group section with their project ‘Sensory stimulation centre’. This project was a desk for a child with learning difficulties that had a variety of practical activities to develop learning. Mr. Mark Rodgers assisted the boys with this project. A-Level Technology pupils Ryan O’Rourke and Ryan Morgan competed in the Senior Group section with their project ‘Holistic car seat safety’. Their project was an electronic safety device attached to the clip of the seat belt of a car. An alarm sounded if the seat belt was not fastened. Mr. Mark Rodgers assisted the boys with this project.

Mr. Bill Hunt, Division Fellow/Design Engineering Manager with Analog Devices said: ‘The Abbey Grammar School in Newry set the standards every year in the Technology Section of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Competition for the other schools in Ireland to aim for. The number of pupils and projects that have travelled from this school to Dublin over the last seven years is a credit to Mr. Dermot McGovern, Headmaster, the Technology teachers and the Technician Mr. Sean Higgins, not only for the high standard of the work entered but just as important for the manner in which they interact with the judges and other pupils and teachers during the exhibition, which is also exceptional’

Mr. Dermot McGovern, Headmaster, travelled to the awards ceremony with other members of staff and congratulated all the pupils that had taken part. He said:

‘After four days meeting judges, pupils and teachers from other schools and members of the general public I can see our pupils brimming with confidence as a result of being part of this great gathering of the best science and technology pupils in Ireland. I thank them for their standards of behaviour, true ambassadors for the school. Numerous officials at the exhibition commented on the excellent attitude of the group reflecting the level of relationships that exist in our school. Special thanks to the teachers involved who were unselfish with their time when working with their pupils. This included after school, during the Christmas holidays and some Saturdays/Sundays. Sean Higgins, Technology Technician, as usual played an invaluable role in assisting pupils and teachers. Thanks to the parents who supported the pupils up to and during the competition. The Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School is determined to develop ‘the whole child’, not just academically, but socially as well, so that when they leave school they are ready for whatever challenges they may face in an ever changing world. The experiences these pupils had at this competition helped to build their character and shall be remembered for a long time’.