Two groups of A Level Science students from Gower College Swansea have received the highest level of award - the Gold CREST - from the British Science Association for their work with local companies.
One team of students worked with Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon and were given the task of incorporating recycled materials into a bio-block design while ensuring they were successful at colonising marine life.
The other team worked with Welsh Water and were tasked with designing and constructing a model of a chemical dosing rig with complete automatic control.
Both companies were incredibly impressed with the dedication and hard work the teams put into their project work, with the Tidal Lagoon continuing to use one of the students’ prototypes as part of their ongoing research into marine colonisation.
The students presented their projects at the Celtic Manor as part of the Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) Big Bang Fair where they were visited by First Minister Carwyn Jones, who was very interested in their work.
"I'm incredibly proud of these students and their achievements - as are my colleagues Stewart McConnell and Amy Herbert who also supported them with their projects," says Curriculum Leader David Bawden.
The Gold CREST Award recognises success, skills and personal achievement in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) project work and allows the most able students to conduct real research for 70+ hours on a long term project.