During the heats, students worked in pairs to extract and analyse caffeine from coffee using liquid-liquid extraction and thin layer chromatography. Students displayed a range of industry standard technical competencies in the areas of health and safety, sample preparation, analytical methods, and recording and interpreting scientific data. Participation also helps the students build essential workplace skills, such as problem solving, time management, attention to detail and adaptability.
In the Bangor heat, the winners were students Brayden McGuigan (21, Newtownards) and Ross Anderson (18, Donaghadee), with students Dylan King (18, Newtownards) and Oliver Wilkinson (18, Newtownards) as runners-up. In the Lisburn heat, the winners were students Jessica Du Plessis (19, Lisburn) and Caroline Johnson (17, Moira), with Katie Donnelly (17, Saintfield) and Ruby Stewart (17, Crumlin) as runners-up. In the Downpatrick heat, the winners were students Ethan Finlay (17, Portaferry) and Jay Elliott (17, Crossgar), with students Cameron Mills (17, Castlewellan) and Beth Greene (19, Newry) as runners-up.
SERC Curriculum Manager Susan Gillen comments, “This is the first time this type of competition has taken place for SERC science students, which tested the skills and knowledge they have been learning in class. Great work was done by competitors across all campuses.”
As the highest scoring students across all campuses, Bangor students Brayden, Ross, Dylan and Oliver will now progress to the next stage of the competition - competing against students from the other five NI colleges tomorrow.
Apply now for courses commencing September 2026. Real Learning for Real Life #BetterOffAtSERC.
