THE Science and Engineering Challenge week kicked off on Monday, May 18, with over 1100 children and teenagers from the region expected to attend the educative event.
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The week, held at the Taree Racecourse, has 25 schools from the Gloucester, Great Lakes, Taree and Wingham areas attending.
It is split into two main events, with the high school competition held on Monday and the rest of the week dedicated to primary school students.
Teams of Year 10 students from schools around the region battled it out in the high school competition, with the winner to go on to the regional challenge to be held in Newcastle.
The schools participated in a range of science and engineering based activities, with bonus points awarded for the bridge challenge at the end of the day.
Wingham High School won the day on overall points and will contend with other teams from around NSW at the regional challenge.
The primary school discovery days, held over the rest of the week, involve high school students working with the younger participants to foster an interest in science, engineering and maths.
Wingham Brush Public School, who won the event in 2013, also came home with the 2015 Champion trophy from the bridge building day on Tuesday.
Wingham High School's head science teacher Mary Doust is justifiably proud of her students who attended. "The students were the most wonderful ambassadors for our school. They were courteous to everyone and humble winners," she said.
"I really love that it gives kids a chance to work as a team and be proud of what they did. It really does enthuse kids in science and engineering and solving problems."
Mary also praised the local Rotary clubs, saying that they paid for the whole zone and Dungog to attend the event.
Wingham Brush Public School, who won the event in 2013, also came home with the 2015 Champion trophy from the bridge building day on Tuesday.
The students from Wingham Brush Public School were just as excited about the sausage sizzle as they were about winning overall Champion school on Tuesday. "We jumped in the air when we won!"said Morgan Saxby, who stated he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, as does fellow team member Lachlan Oliver.
The annual event, which is run by the University of Newcastle and sponsored locally by rotary clubs and MidCoast Water, aims to encourage students to study mathematics, engineering and technology subjects for their HSC.
