Wokingham

Palmer C of E (Aided) Junior in Wokingham is celebrating once again after triumphing in the Syngenta Young Scientists Project – an honour they first took three years ago!

The school entered the competition three years ago and won the top award and the following year they finished second. This year, Wokingham pupils from year six were determined to regain pole position and their hard work paid off! Their experiment was to test household substances as rocket fuel. They tested fruit juices and vinegar to find out which would fire a cork rocket the furthest. The children had to deal with safety issues and organise the experiments themselves.

Four Wokingham pupils from year six - Harry Gowers aged 11, Luka Price aged 11, Marcus Dean aged 11 and Saskia King aged 11 – made a presentation and answered questions on their project asked by scientists from Syngenta. When judging had been completed the team from Palmer C of E (Aided) Junior School were awarded first place by the judging panel, who said: “It was an outstanding piece of work!” The judges also praised the pupils for their use of information technology, graphics and raw data.

The Syngenta Young Scientists Project is a competition that aims to encourage schoolchildren to take up and enjoy science. The well-established event is open to children from primary and secondary schools in the Berkshire and Surrey areas.

Wokingham Pupils received commemorative awards and also won a cash prize of ₤250. Headteacher Ann Davis said: “Palmer C of E (Aided) Junior School is very proud of the year six achievement. Science is an exciting subject to study and we thank Syngenta for giving them the opportunity to have such an enjoyable and interesting project to work on. Year six teacher Nicholas O’Connell was very pleased with all the children's efforts. The prize money will be used towards an addition to our adventure playground.”

David Hawthorne, corporate head of Wokingham children’s services (education), said: “The determination of the pupils from Palmer C of E (Aided) Junior was clear when they set about to win this prestigious award. They all worked extremely hard and impressed the judges with their creative experiment. I would like to extend my congratulations to the whole school.”

Wokingham District Council