CHILDREN are celebrating after their school landed an award for a science project.

St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Aided Primary School, in Stanley, was named a winner in the Better Energy School Awards 2020.

Its entry STEM – Raising aspirations: Girls can be scientists too! was declared runner up in the Totally Scientific Award category for schools in northern England. The school won £250 in recognition of their efforts.

The Better Energy School Awards is a nationwide competition for five to 11-year-olds, which is run by the Young People’s Trust for the Environment (YPTE) in partnership with Total, and aims to generate interest in the environment and raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy sources.

The girls in the school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) club discovered ten new female role models who had leading careers in STEM-based fields.

They looked at STEM careers in a fun and engaging way and carried out a series of experiments to inspire and engage them in STEM topics.

YPTE director Peter Littlewood said: “Science has tended not to be a popular subject for girls in primary schools, so this project to inspire their interest is really important. The STEM Club did some fantastic research work and carried out a series of enjoyable and interesting experiments to gain their award.”

The Better Energy School Awards competition will run again in 2020-21, for details visit betterenergyschoolawards.org.uk