With little more than a month left to submit entries for school science competition the Bright Spark Awards, the judges have renewed calls for submissions from girls.

The deadline for the awards, which encourage teams of pupils to use cross-curricular skills in Stem (science, technical, engineering and maths) subjects in practical projects, is May 31.

Robert Cook of judging organisation Pfizer said: “It’s important to dispel myths about science being only for boys and address the reasons why girls may turn away from Stem subjects as doing so closes doors to a range of careers that can be highly rewarding and vital for the future health of the industry.

“The Bright Spark Awards are a great opportunity to spark an interest and insight into the subjects of science and technology, and we’d really urge schools to encourage girls, as well as boys, to take part.”

Girls were responsible for a number of stand-out entries in last year’s awards, with examples including the Dartford Science and Technology College team responsible for the Dance Mat project, and the Brilliant Biogas project from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Faversham.

Shortlisted teams will present their projects to the judges at a Dragons’ Den-style awards ceremony in July.

Apart from Pfizer, the other judging organisations for the awards are Kent Renewable Energy, Atkins Global, Megger, The ITL Group, EduKit, Highways England, Discovery Park, BAE Systems, Global Associates and Golding Vision.

The awards are open to primary and secondary schools, and there are three categories: innovation, investigation and invention.

Find out more by visiting Kmcharityteam.co.uk/brightspark or contacting event coordinator Hannah Hawksworth at hhawksworth@thekmgroup.co.uk or on 0844 264 0291.

Watch a video about Brilliant Biogas here:

And watch a video about Project Dance Mat here: