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8 February 2021
Congratulations to St Margaret’s senior pupils Marcy, Jane, Shaneka and Rebecca who have been awarded a High Commendation for Design in the Key Stage 3 group in the 2020 MiSAC Annual Competition VaccAid: fighting infections.
The aim of the competition was to increase an understanding among teenagers of how vaccines work and their uses in controlling infectious diseases in children. Entrants were asked to produce information for a social-media website (VaccAid) for teenagers which explain the scientific basis of the immune response to diseases caused by microbes. Entries had to include information to explain how vaccines work, describe the different types of vaccine which are used against different diseases, the ways they are given to children and their effectiveness.
The science competition which took place in the last lockdown, with winning entries announced this week, attracted 330 entries and involved participation by over 580 students. The second year pupils collaborated as a group using google classroom to create their impressive submissions on the Immune Response and an Influenza Story.
Head of Biology Abby Miller said: “The first lockdown last year came as a shock to us all, and created some concern in the process. The biology department tried to provide the girls at all levels with opportunities to ask their questions about the coronavirus and to teach them the microbiology theory needed to make sense of what was in the media at the time.
“The annual MiSAC competition was serendipitously focused around vaccines, and complemented this work nicely. The second to fourth year girls were asked to provide an entry as part of their classwork in March, and some opted to work in groups. This involved coordinating their research, content and designs remotely and, in the case of this Highly Commended entry, learning to use new software in the process.
“I am incredibly proud of the girls and how they pulled this together in such an imaginative, colourful and well-planned design.”
