MRHS was chosen to host the VSA by the NSW Department of Education due to the success of the Murrumbidgee Academy of STEM Excellence (MASE) program which was launched in 2019 and it's pivotal role in the successful trial of the Australia New Zealand STEM Alliance (ANZSEA) in 2020 and 2021 involving students from Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales and New Zealand.

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Deputy Principal of the NSW VSA, Ian Preston said that local students were at the forefront for a range of exciting STEM based learning experiences. .

"The awarding of the host site for the NSW Virtual STEM Academy to Murrumbidgee Regional High School guarantees local students ongoing access to world class STEM opportunities," Mr Preston said.

And whilst COVID induced lockdowns and restrictions were not ideal and some lessons were missed, all students involved from partner primary schools walked away with new skills and ideas courtesy of their unique learning experience.

Samantha Gadesden from Griffith Public School said she 'loved' everything about the program, especially learning how to code and make something new.

Her classmate Jordan Von Eime shared this sentiment, expressing that using coding to make lights and sound work was 'cool'.

Griffith East students Presley Young and Elise Harris both shared these sentiments that the biggest takeaway they had from participating was learning the basic of coding.

"It was a fun experience, very educational," Presley said.

"It was a great opportunity to learn and understand more about coding," Elise said.

Griffith North Public School students Sophie Webb and Daniel Mitchell both said they enjoyed the challenge the program provided.

"What I really liked was building the actual physical circuit board. The thing I found hard was working out how to code correctly and knowing when something was wrong and trying to find out how everything worked," Sophie said.

"I liked building the physical circuit and working with kids from other schools," Daniel said.

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Tharbogang student Benjamin Savage said the collaborative nature of the Virtual STEM Academy helped him learn new things from not just the program but students from other schools.

"I love engineering and have developed lots of new skills from the Academy," his classmate Jaxon Ison said.

According to Mr Preston, the success of the trial was clear not even half way through the ten week program.

"Student engagement levels during the trial were evident when students were eagerly logging onto their lessons from their own homes during lockdown," Mr Preston said.

Following the successful 'proof of concept' during the trial, the VSA will be expanded in 2022 with the installation of a second delivery studio at MRHS, allowing for more courses to be delivered.

Next year will also see MRHS heavily involved in the formation of the Australian Virtual STEM Academy with additional funding recently announced for the program via a grant from the St George Foundation.

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