‘Rockin’ reactions are expected from students this week (today 7th May) in a first for Roma schools.

Students at Roma Secondary College and St John’s Catholic School will take part in the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy’s (QMEA) brand new ‘Rockin’ Reactions’ workshop.

The schools are the latest to join the 60-strong QMEA, on the back of support from the academy’s newest partner Senex which is developing the Roma North natural gas project near Roma.

Students will see how rocks are formed by observing crystal formations under microscopes and explore air drilling methods to determine geological features.

“Senex is proud to partner with QMEA to provide exciting and hands-on learning experiences for local students,” said Senex Managing Director Ian Davies.

“We are keen to engage with students and teachers to demonstrate the variety of career options in natural gas.

“Our industry is one of the few where young people can return to, or remain in, their local community following study or training to take up highly-skilled careers.”

Donaugh Shirley, Principal at St John’s said students and teachers were very much looking forward to the QMEA activities.

“It’s a great opportunity for students and teachers at both schools to engage with Senex representatives and help students join the dots between classroom learning and real-world applications,” she said.

“We appreciate Senex’s commitment to the QMEA,” said Katrina-Lee Jones, Director Skills Education and Diversity with the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

“It’s only through such industry support that we can bring the world of work into the classroom and help encourage students to continue with high-level STEM studies into their senior school years and beyond,” she said.

“QMEA has an exceptional record of encouraging students into STEM and vocational careers.

“For example, 19 percent of QMEA students enter post school study or employment in engineering and related technologies, compared with 11 percent from non-QMEA schools.

“And, 11 percent of female QMEA students entered a mining-related apprenticeship or traineeship compared to just 1.1 percent of female non-QMEA students.”