Angela Lamacraft presents IoA Secondary Schools Competition Winner at John Connell Awards 2024

Representatives from St Oscar Romero Catholic School, Angela Lamacraft (IoA, Sustainable Acoustics) and Gabrielle Edwards CBE, Director for Environmental Quality (Defra). (Image: Noise Abatement Society)

Sustainable Acoustics' very own Angela Lamacraft was at the 2024 John Connell Awards on Wednesday as an IoA Council Member on behalf of the Institute of Acoustics to present the prize for the Institute of Acoustics Secondary Schools Competition.

This inspiring competition aims to encourage secondary school students to listen more carefully to the sound environment, and to think critically about how these sounds relate to the biodiversity around them. This year's competition focused on exploring the connection between acoustics and ecology, specifically for birds. Children were asked to identify three acoustically different areas, describe the soundscape of each area, and use the BirdNET app to identify birds that are present in each area.

Angela said:

The entry from Orla, Emily and Isla at St Oscar Romero Catholic School stood out as being exceptionally well thought out, with good descriptions of each stage and a very professional presentation.

Angela then went on to say:

It’s a huge honour to help encourage young people to explore the world of sound and understand the effects sound has on their environment, something that we at Sustainable Acoustics Ltd are keen to do more of. The look of awe on the winners’ faces as they walk through the Palace of Westminster to the John Connell Awards ceremony is extremely rewarding and I thank the Noise Abatement Society for allowing the Institute of Acoustics to present the award as part of the evening.

If you want to discover more about our involvement with the John Connell Awards this year, which included winning the John Connell Soundscape Award for our innovational well-being project with Thames Valley Police, then follow the links below to read our related articles:

• Sustainable Acoustics has won Soundscape Category at John Connell Awards 2024

• Sustainable Acoustics shortlisted for John Connell 'Noise Oscars' Awards (read this post to get an in-depth insight into the ins and outs of our award-winning project!)