Future innovators showcase skills in NESCol’s STEM challenge

June 9, 2025

The winners of NESCol’s annual STEM skills competition were crowned last week at the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire finals.

Sponsored by Shell UK, teams of S2 pupils from across the region came together to battle it out in a series of STEM challenges.

The Aberdeenshire finals were hosted at Fraserburgh Campus on 27 May, with Mintlaw Academy duo, Kyson Maitland and Cara Bailey scooping the top spot. Second place runners-up were Charley Smith and Logan Slessor from Fraserburgh Academy.

The Aberdeen finals followed shortly after on 29 May at Altens Campus. First place winners were Taha Mallick and Jack Sandilands from Cults Academy, with Harlaw Academy’s Leon Grzonka and Stavroula Kokkali taking second place.

Two school pupils working on a pneumatics challenge

Introduced to encourage participation in STEM subjects, the competition consists of three rounds. This year saw over 2,500 pupils participate in the initial knock-out stage, with 350 making it through to the second stage. Two pupils were then selected to represent each school in the finals.

Duncan Abernethy, Assistant Principal – Curriculum and Commercial Development, NESCol, said:

“The creativity, problem-solving and teamworking skills on display at this year’s competition were outstanding.

“With the support of Shell UK, NESCol has been able to engage thousands of pupils from 18 schools across the region in STEM challenges.

“We hope that by showcasing the many opportunities available with the energy transition and within the wider STEM sector, young people will be inspired to consider STEM subjects at school and STEM careers in the future.”

The finals saw pupils work in pairs against the clock to solve challenges involving new technologies like virtual reality as well as traditional engineering tasks like pneumatics and complex maths. NESCol’s robotic dog, NESCollie also made an appearance for an assault course task where pupils had to navigate the robot through a series of obstacles.

This is the 17th year that the competition has been held.

Duncan Abernethy added:

“Alongside our partners, NESCol is committed to supporting the pipeline from education to workforce. We thank all the schools and pupils for their enthusiasm in the competition, and Shell UK for enabling us to continue to inspire the next generation.

“A special mention to Jenny MacDonald, Social Investment Advisor- Skills Lead at Shell UK and Andy Maitland, Sponsored Initiatives Coordinator at NESCol, for their efforts in ensuring the challenge was a fun and beneficial experience for all involved.”