Pupils at a Fife school are in the running for a prestigious award after creating their own renewable energy device.
The team from Benarty Primary School has made the final of the Junior Saltire award after designing and building its own floating wave energy converter, using wave power to create electricity.
The pupils will now get their chance to put their design through its paces when they test their gadgets tomorrow at the University of Edinburgh’s FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, the world’s most sophisticated ocean simulator which can recreate multi-directional waves and fast tidal flows.
Teacher Jacqueline Johnstone said: “Everyone involved in this project is thrilled to have made it through to the final.
“Designing and then building this device has been a fascinating process and it’s great to have the chance to test it out in this way.
“A lot of hard work and enthusiasm has gone into reaching this stage, so it’s a great achievement.”
More than 600 pupils from around Scotland took part in the competition, which is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry in partnership with Skills Development Scotland.
Diane Hill, the energy partnership manager at SDS, said: “School pupils of all ages are aware of how important it is to develop new technologies offering sustainable sources of power, and the Junior Saltire award offers a real insight into this industry.
