Students from across the Durham District School Board, which is headquartered in Whitby, turned in strong performances at this month's provincial Skills Competition, including a gold medal in character animation and a chance for one secondary student to compete on the national stage this week.

Elementary students competed on May 4 at the Toronto Congress Centre, with secondary students following on May 5. DDSB entries took part in 32 skills categories at what is described as Canada's largest provincially run skills competition, according to a Durham District School Board news release.

Ethan Geng, a student at Pickering High School, is now preparing to move on to the National Skills Competition, where he will compete in photography in Toronto on May 28 and 29.

Elementary students claim three medals

At the elementary level, DDSB students earned one gold and two silver medals.

The gold went to a four-student team from Coronation Public School — Magathi, Ayesha, Rehath and Trishna — in the Character Animation category for Grades 4-6.

Two silver medals came in the Technology category. Sathana, Aadhya, Evanya and Sreshta of Sir Samuel Steele Public School placed silver for Grades 4-6, while Aliyah, Farzad, Krithik and Christine of Viola Desmond Public School took silver in the same category for Grades 7-8.

Broader DDSB participation

Teams from several other DDSB schools also competed at the event: William Dunbar, Quaker Village, Sherwood, Michaëlle Jean, Village Union and Pringle Creek public schools. Those students also took part in hands-on workshops during the competition, giving them a chance to build on what they learned.

The board said it was proud of all its student competitors, noting their success reflects both their own commitment and the support of teacher mentors at their schools.

The DDSB's administrative offices are located on Taunton Road East in Whitby, and the board serves public school students across Durham Region, including Whitby, Brooklin, Ajax, Pickering and Oshawa.

Attention now shifts to the national stage, where Geng will represent the board in photography over two days of competition beginning May 28 in Toronto.