Community & Business
1 July, 2025
Students’ curiosity to spark at camp
SEVEN students from Mareeba State High School are attending a free, five-day camp in Brisbane this week where they will explore the field of engineering.
The Mareeba school has the most students attending the Spark Engineering Camp, which is offered to those who wouldn’t normally get a chance to participate in these types of events or who aren’t generally represented in the field of engineering.
The camp is open to Year 10, 11, and 12 students. Mareeba has two Year 10s, four Year 11s, and one Year 12 student who left on Monday and will return on Saturday.
The students attending are Niah Abdalla-Caamano, Ava Tuxworth-Pedersen, Clayton Gulliver, Alyssa Camp, Zeva Warwick, Ben Kirke, and Lael Owens.
They will spend their time at the University of Queensland (UQ where they will take part in a range of engineering activities and workshops and learn from university professors.
The school’s head of department for science Jason Richardson said it was a great opportunity for students who wouldn’t normally get to experience university life but are very capable of participating.
“It also shows them that there’s a huge opportunity out there in the engineering field,” he said.
He was also thrilled at the fact that the school had the most students attending the camp.
“It’s wonderful to have the most students attending. We’re at the other end of the state and we are relatively remote, so we were really happy to know that,” he said.
“There’s a fair bit of work that goes into the applications and promoting and organising, but it’s well worth it when you get so many students getting this opportunity.”
Mr Richardson said events like these were important because they showed students just how many educational opportunities were available outside of the local region.
“Just seeing the opportunities and the amazing facilities that a university can offer, and that they could actually end up there, should be encouraging for them,” he said.
“And there are other students in regional areas who are really interested in science as well, so they get to meet with their like-minded peers and realise they have the capability to participate in these fields.”
Mr Richardson said the school had focused more on free extracurricular opportunities which had increased students’ engagement, knowing that finances were not a factor.
“I think we are very lucky in this school that we do really focus on promoting a lot of extracurricular opportunities for our students,” he said.
“And the staff do work pretty hard to promote and put in the extra work to ensure these kids get to go.”
