CBS Primary School Ennis were crowned over all winners of the 2025/2026 Intel Mini Scientist competition, beating students from across Ireland at the highly anticipated grand final.
The students – Aidan Hehir, Sam O’Neill and Franky Giudici, won the award for their project examining how does a catapult work? By investigating the principles of kinetic and potential energy, the students analysed how a catapult operates – from the initial storage of energy to its release at launch.
The students were presented with their prizes by Sarah Sexton, Intel Public Affairs Director, and Kenny McNamee, Senior Principal Engineer at Intel. As part of the prize, the overall winning school will receive a grant of €1000 from Intel.
This year, over 5,000 students from 75 schools in 15 counties participated in the Mini Scientist competition. The Grand Final, held at the TU Dublin Blanchardstown campus, brought together the top 70 projects from around the country. From chemical cabbages to AI chatbots, these budding scientists brought all sorts of creative ideas to life for the judging panel.
The event marked the culmination of a nationwide competition that began in September 2025. 4th, 5th, and 6th class students from schools all over Ireland participated in the nineteenth annual Intel Mini Scientist competition, engaging in project-based learning and exhibitions to explore the world of science. Starting with projects exhibited within their own schools, Intel employees visited each participating school to select a project that was invited to move forward to the grand final.
Intel Public Affairs Director Sarah Sexton was delighted with the success of this year’s event “It was fantastic to once again see thousands of students participating in the Intel Mini Scientist and their continued commitment to such a high standard of projects – the competition is a great way to get children excited about science and technology and to give them the opportunity to build key skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork”.
Commenting on the overall winning project Head Judge, Sheila Porter, SciFest Founder & CEO said, “The Intel Mini Scientist competition is a wonderful opportunity for young students across the country to showcase their scientific knowledge and innovative ideas. The diverse range of projects presented by today’s finalists has been really impressive. From renewable energy to artificial intelligence, the depth of thinking and teamwork on display reflects the remarkable talent and creativity of these students.”