The school’s science club picked up the technical excellence award at this year’s University of Melbourne School of Engineering Amazing Spaghetti Machine Contest. Their machine came fourth overall with a score of 17 out of 20. 

Spaghetti machine is an Italian term for an overly complex machine that is used to perform a relatively simple task. With the theme for this year’s contest ‘wake me up’, students designed and built an elaborate alarm clock machine with a series of triggers eventually leading to an alarm being sounded. 

Science teacher David Beard said more than 100 hours of work would have gone into the machine from the initial idea through to construction. 

He said there were strict criteria that had to be adhered to and the process allowed students to put their knowledge and skills in maths science, engineering and project management to the test. 

“It’s a big achievement. We were up against some of the top schools in Victoria,” he said. 

“Our machine worked first time, every time, while some others needed a bit of work when they got there. That’s why we got the technical excellence award. 

“Our students did a great job and should be very pleased with their result. They also gained a great insight into what they need to do in future so that next year they can go back and win overall.”