Students from schools around the Great Southern take part in the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge at NASHS

Students from around the Great Southern were able to design, build and race their own solar-powered car as part of the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge. The challenge was hosted at North Albany Senior High School last week and brought a variety of schools from the Great Southern together to compete. The Synergy School Solar challenge aims to help develop science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills. In the Year 6 competition Mt Lockyer Primary School took first place followed by a Mt Barker Community College team, Katanning PS were third and another MBCC team were fourth. North Albany SHS were the Year 8 winners, beating MBCC, KSHS and a second NASHS team. Over the past decade, this competition has given more than 18,000 WA primary and middle school students the chance to explore energy and engineering in a fun and practical way. In 2026, close to 1000 Year 6 and Year 8 students across 150 Perth and regional schools developed STEM skills by designing and constructing these solar-powered cars. Synergy chief executive officer Kurt Baker said the challenge was about inspiring young minds, fostering teamwork and encouraging problem-solving skills. Mr Baker said one of the main ideas was for students to learn about the strength and opportunities of renewable energy. “Over the past 10 years, the Synergy Schools Solar Challenge has helped WA students discover the power of renewable energy and the possibilities it brings to the future,” he said. “In 2017 when Synergy Solar Schools Challenge launched, more than 500 students took part in the new initiative and since then we have continued this competition to spark interest in understanding solar energy.” Mr Baker said hitting the 10-year mark of the program was very exciting and emphasises the importance of educating future minds. “The Synergy Schools Solar Challenge continues to educate and raise awareness of energy within schools and the wider community, which is more important than ever as the energy transition powers on,” he said. “In this milestone year for the program, I’m really excited to see the students’ creativity as they build their solar powered vehicles.”