14 students from years 7-11 at Wagga Wagga Christian College are competing Thursday and Friday in the Aeronautical Velocity Challenge. 

The AVC is a STEM initiative, incorporating subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths. It focuses on addressing Australia’s shortage of scientists and engineers.

David Crick, the college’s design and technology teacher, said this competition is aimed at giving students an understanding of the role maths and science play in society.

“The practical side of education is coming out to a higher level of thinking, they can’t just knock two things together and hope it flies,” Mr Crick said. 

“They’ve actually got to understand why it’s going to fly or not going to fly, and then look at improving it.

“We’re trying to take out that random guess of problem solving to something that is well structured and patterned.” 

Over the two days, students across the state will compete through their design and testing of propeller powered planes, their development of rockets from PVC bottles, and participating in the drone competition. 

While the students learn practical design and mathematical skills, Mr Crick said they also gain a sense of teamwork. 

“Students realise that working together and collaboratively is important,” Mr Crick said. 

Competing for her third year, year 11 student, Chloe Hindebrand said the competition also builds resilience. 

“We get some knock-downs and designs that don’t work but you have to maneuver those and problem-solve,” she said.  

Similarly, another year 11 student, Calvin Combs said he was hopeful Wagga Wagga Christian College can move on to nationals from their third go at state finals. 

“It really helps with design and your ability to solve problems, and because this has been going for a few years now, we’ve been able to edit our designs to get the best possible performance outcome,” he said.