Eight schools from Carlow and Kilkenny preparing for this year’s Young Scientist Exhibition

More than 40 local students are getting ready for one of the largest student academic competitions in the country.

The BT Young Scientists Exhibition takes place in the RDS from next Wednesday.

With 37 students taking part, Kilkenny will certainly be well represented at this year’s exhibition.

They’re coming from six schools – the Loreto Secondary School, Coláiste Éamann Rís, Coláiste Pobal Osraí, Castlecomer Community School, St Kieran’s College, and Meánscoil na mBráithre Criostaí – or CBS Kilkenny.

Between them a total of 15 projects have been shortlisted, with topics ranging from “the dire disadvantages to a celebrity smile”, to “the effects of smelll on memory.”

Meanwhile, six students from two schools in Carlow are also putting the finishing touches to their projects at the moment.

There’s one student from the Presentation de la Salle who’s project is a “data wave emitter via laser beams”, and there are five students from the Gaelcholáiste.

Their two projects are about mental health issues in teenagers, and concussion.

All in all, more than 2,000 entries were submitted for the 2018 Young Scientist Exhibition and the 550 qualified projects will be represented in the RDS next week.