A grade 11 pupil from Sacred Heart College, Paul Stansell, won a gold medal in the Innovation and Technology category at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists fair.
Paul’s subject focused on space travel.
Part of his winnings is a trip to the SKA Telescope and an interview for a possible visit to an international science fair.
He also received study grants from the Universities of Stellenbosch, Witwatersrand and Pretoria.
The award is presented to an outstanding creative project based on sound scientific research.
The candidate had the courage to embark on a project that probes the limits of our current understanding of physics.
He impressed with his careful approach to the scientific method, and his depth of understanding of the intricacies of the problem.
He was able to evaluate his results critically and identified a number of controlled variables that might influence these results.
The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists attracted 17 000 candidates this year and has far-reaching exposure with participants from Mexico, Brazil, Thailand and other SADC countries.
Two other Sacred Heart College pupils, Ruth McCormick and Charvana Skye Naidoo, won silver medals for their project: Cleanest Air-ea.
This project tested air quality in five areas in Johannesburg; Midrand (North); Bruma (East); Lenasia (South), Soweto (West) and Johannesburg CBD (Central).
“Sacred Heart College is so proud of the persistence that our pupils portrayed during their investigations. We congratulate them on their remarkable achievements,” said Ms Lamorna Cantin, the science teacher.
