MacIntyre High School has taken out the 2026 Sapphire City National Science and Engineering Challenge held at the Inverell RSM Club on Friday.
190 students and their teachers from surrounding secondary schools and one primary school competed in this year’s event coming from as far as Tenterfield enjoyed a day of creativity and problem solving, geared towards improving their skills and knowledge in STEM subjects
Students participated in an amazing variety of stimulating and challenging tasks, from building and testing bridges to sending coded messages via fibre optic rods using only pulses of coloured light, to designing sustainable fish traps and constructing a wind turbine from scratch.
Deb Curkpatrick from Inverell Rotary Club says all the students are to be commended on their enthusiasm and positive engagement with the many challenges, the Bridge challenge being the highlight of the day.
Macintyre High School students who were both were the winners of the Bridge challenge and also overall champions on the day.
A huge thank you must be extended to volunteers from both Rotary clubs who worked tirelessly to set up, lead and test each challenge. They also appreciated the help of 4 year 11 students from Inverell High School and also enjoyed a visit from Brendan Moylan MP and the Deputy Mayor of Inverell, Jo Williams.
The day was led by the University of Newcastle and supported by the many volunteers from the Rotary clubs of Inverell and Inverell East. Inverell Rotary are also grateful for the support of our sponsors, BOSS Engineering and Engineering Australia. Many thanks to Inverell RSM for providing a venue.
