Congratulations to all the students who took part in the competition this year. The EESW Student of the Year Award 2021 is an event to celebrate the students that took part in the EESW Sixth Form Project in the last academic year. The award is gratefully sponsored by Industry Wales for the third consecutive year. Over 250 Year 12 students who participated in the scheme last year were invited to submit a proposal to become the EESW Student of the Year, with 10 being shortlisted for an interview in November. The calibre of the interviewed students was so high that the judges decided to choose two runners-up and one overall winner. The three finalists were invited to join a zoom call with Lucy Owen from BBC Wales to discuss their project in more detail, what their role was in the team and what it would mean to them to win the award.

The announcement of the EESW Student of the Year 2021 was premiered on Thursday 17th February 2022. This year’s winner of the £800 prize, Katy Knoyle from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, worked with Arup on a project to reduce the Carbon footprint of the new BBC Wales building in Cardiff. Katy investigated the idea of moss benches which would absorb Carbon Dioxide and other harmful particles. Katy and the team from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr really impressed the judges and were shortlisted for three awards: Best Overall Written Report, Best Project for Sustainability/ Environmental Protection and the Most Effective Presentation of the Chosen Solution. Katy has applied for an integrated Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and is looking forward to a career as a Chartered Chemical Engineer in the future. Gareth Hall Williams, Katy’s teacher for the project commented: “The EESW project was undertaken remotely, interspersed with periods of personal contact with the rest of the group. It is to Katy’s great credit that the rare contact times were used effectively as she, in her quiet and unassuming way, helped steer the group through a challenging project. From the start, Katy had clear objectives and a focus on the end-product, a concise yet comprehensive cost benefit analysis of different methods to reduce the carbon footprint of the new BBC building in Cardiff. "

The worthy runners-up, Auvni Patel from Howell’s College who worked with Transport for Wales Rail Services and Arwen Skinner from Queen Elizabeth High School who worked with Aberystwyth University will each receive £400 towards their future studies.