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This year Dane Court were incredibly proud of the science projects that more than 110 students produced collaboratively.

The Group 4 project is a chance for our science students to work collaboratively and gain some of the soft skills that will benefit them not only in further education but in the workplace for the future. It is designed to highlight to students that science is more than just subject taught in a lab, but rather an endeavour where their particular skills can be used in a team effort. All of them were busy last week carrying out research projects and creating presentations of their work for an impressive Science Fair on Thursday. The theme of this year was “Health”. This generalised topic allowed them the creative freedom to explore their project from multiple different points of view and lend the knowledge from their scientific disciplines. Both internal and external judges were impressed by the plethora of projects produced, ranging from tropical disease treatment, maximising performance in sport, detrimental effects of plastic in your diet and even the science of dentistry.

Pfizer, Thanet Earth, Fujifilm, Bakkavor and the Deputy Mayor of Broadstairs and St Peter’s, Councillor Roy Dextor and Councillor Brenda Rodgers awarded prizes for the best five scientific presentations. We welcomed Rob Crook and Emily Stratton of Pfizer and Dan Bramwell of Thanet Earth, Sarah Smith of Fujifilm and Tania Speed of Bakkavor visited the science fair to judge the entries, along with our executive head Kate Grieg and Head of School Martin Jones. All judges remarked on teamwork that each group had conveyed. The Deputy Mayor of Broadstairs Roy Dextor commented on how captivating the presentations were in the scientific content they delivered. The deliberations were almost impossible this year. The quality of the work produced by all 19 groups was of the highest standard, and the enthusiasm of the students was inspiring.

The Pfizer Science Prize was won by Catherine Banks, Olivia Combe, Milan Bastin, Amelia Annis, Kennard Casey and Megan Teuellatre for the research project “Malaria: causes, prevention and treatment”. Pfizer representative Rob Crook commented on how well they fielded his rigorous and challenging questions, and highlighted their professionalism and high level of knowledge.
Emily 17 years old from Broadstairs and winner of the Thanet Earth prize said: ‘The project was really interesting and I was able to work passionately on the topic of mental health with other students. It was very useful to see how all the sciences related to each other and contributed to the overall outcome’. Her group of Joe Chambers, Matous Beeldman, Maeve Brewer and Herbie Hudson worked tirelessly as a team and delegated roles with pragmatism to produce a compelling project.

The Fujifilm Science Prize was won by Harriet Philpott, Finley Jarman-Hume, Crystal Allen, Sadie Lowther and Francis Ramsden for their topical project on the science of using CBD based medicines to combat diseases such as Parkinson’s. Fujifilm representative Sarah Smith commented on how they were all passionate in their delivery and they conveyed a controversial topic in an outstanding manner.
Bakkavor were pleased to award their sponsored prize to Charles Lycett, Isolde Caddell, Jasmine Dobson, Tiffany Luxford, Matthew Donaldson and Jason Sotos for their startling and stark project on “Pollution and health” which highlighted the not only impact on the environment but also the ‘worrying implications on health’.
The Mayor’s Prize was won by Fauzaan Syed, Nkosilenhle Motsa, Josh Rudloff and Elizabeth Allen for their outstanding, enthralling and passionate presentation on “Modern ways of treating Cancer”. They were one of few groups which pushed the envelope of the Group 4 project and looked into the hopeful future of personalised and highly specific cancer therapies.
There was a new prize awarded this year, to the group that highlighted the very best traits and characteristics that we hope the Dane Court community instil. Throughout the three days of project, Alexander Boyd, Dan Cooper, Ruby Arnold, Sydney Bexley, Taylor Austen and Owen Richardson worked tirelessly for one another, they acted with enthusiasm and integrity for one another scientific specialism and bonded well as a group of inquirers with the same common goal.