A TALENTED North Yorkshire schoolgirl has secured a place in a the finals of a national science competition.

Easingwold School pupil Emily Dowling, 15, excelled in the regional heats of the 2012 National Science & Engineering Competition with her investigation into how to prevent children with osteogenesis imperfecta – a disease which makes bones fragile – being incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from child abuse.

Her shortlisted entry will now be presented before more than 30,000 people in the national finals of the competition, at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham next March. Emily said: “Winning the Silver Crest Award at the Regional Big Bang fair at York Minster came as a huge shock to me.

“The predominant subject of my project is osteogenesis imperfecta. I have been studying it for over a year for various other projects, and have had the chance to work with it over the summer at the University of York.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed researching my CREST Award project, and I am incredibly excited and proud to have been awarded a place in the finals of the National Science and Engineering Competition at the Big Bang Fair in March.”

Sir Roland Jackson, chief executive of the British Science Association which runs the National Science and Engineering Competition, said: “The competition aims to inspire the talent of the future by making science, engineering, technology and maths more appealing for young people. We’re thrilled that Emily has got through as a regional finalist and wish her all the best for the national finals at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham.”

Free tickets for the fair are available at thebigbangfair.co.uk. Pupils have until October 31 to enter the competition at thebigbangfair.co.uk/nsec