By Dominique Tassell
The Granite Belt’s annual spaghetti bridge competition was held on Tuesday 13 September, with the majority of primary schools competing.
The competition was held at Stanthorpe State School, where it has been run every year since 2005 with the exception of one year during the pandemic.
Jono Bushby, who is charged with IDT and vocational education training at Stanthorpe State High School, said the program is “really designed as a transition program where the grade six students from around all the different schools get to come together”.
He said the competition is designed to help students meet each other and learn a bit about high school before they start the following year.
Jono said the competition presents students with a design challenge, where they have to create a bridge in the nominated amount of time using only spaghetti and hot glue.
While student make the bridges at their primary schools, they come in for a “test and destroy” day.
Jono said they “all come together to meet and chat”.
The bridges are then loaded up and tested to destruction, with various awards given out.
This includes an award for the most aesthetic bridge.
Jono said this is based on the bridge’s symmetry and the balance of its materials.
“Is it delicate and well-built or smeared in hot glue?”
Awards are also given for the strongest bridge, the lightest bridge to hold 500 grams, and the most efficient bridge.
Jono said they break students into groups, where they can meet students from other schools, and have design challenges and other events such as paper plane throwing competitions and a competition to make the tallest tower out of marshmallows and spaghetti.
He said the day is all about helping the students to meet and integrate as a cohort.
Coming from small schools with small cohorts to a high school with over 100 students in their grade and over 700 students on a large campus can be overwhelming.
Jono said they just want to help the students integrate as easily as possible.
He said normally they have around nine or 10 primary schools competing, from Wallangarra through to The Summit.
In addition to the Year 6 students spending a day together, Cert 2 Hospitality students from Stanthorpe State High cater the event.
Results:
Lightest bridge to support 500g: to Stanthorpe State Primary
Most efficient bridge: Thulimbah State School
Most Aesthetic Bridge: Glen Aplin State School
Strongest bridge: Thulimbah State School
