Cork school goes five for five at BT Young Scientist   

One Cork school went five for five on their submissions to this year’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

All five projects submitted by students from St Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow to the 2025 exhibition received awards or commendations from the judges.

A special award went to Alvy Fitzgerald, Anna Duggan, and Leah O’Sullivan, who won the Teagasc Award for their project: ‘An Investigation into using Total Leaf-Area as a predictive tool for determining below-ground biomass at all stages in the growth of selected Root-Crop Plants’.

The three also won the Junior Group for the Biological and Ecological category.

In the category awards, Sarah Stewart and Grace Goulding were senior group winners of the Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences category with their project: ‘Analysing Temporal Variations in Quasar Flux: A Python-based approach to satellite and observatory images.’

Delilah Afriyie, Layla O’Connor, and Doireann Dempsey won the Junior Group in the Technology category with their project: ‘Development and evaluation of a wearable distress detection and response system for open water swimmers.’

Brainpower

Meanwhile, Amy O’Mahony, and Berenice Cronin came second in the Health and Well-Being category with their project: ‘Boosting Brainpower: An investigation into the effect of ‘movement breaks’ on student cognition, wellbeing, and academic performance.’

Aimee Renton, Anna O’Brien, and Katie Mae O’Neill were highly commended in the Intermediate Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences category for their project: ‘An investigation into micro-plastic degradation in aquatic habitats using UV and heat energy, and their potential for reducing potable water contamination.’

“We’re delighted to celebrate an extraordinary achievement that highlights the excellence, determination, and creativity demonstrated by our students at this year’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition,” the principal of St Mary’s, Andrea Murphy, said.

“St Mary’s, Mallow, has delivered a truly stellar performance this year — 60% of the participants at the exhibition were girls — a true testament to the growing strength of young women in Stem,” Ms Murphy added.