A DNA project about polecats by a student at a Gorleston college has scooped a top award at the Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition 2017.

Rose McNelly, who goes East Norfolk Sixth Form College, presented her Sequencing the Genome of the

European Polecat (Mustela putorius) at the national competition and won the London International Youth Science Forum award.

It involved extracting DNA from a sample of European polecat tissue and sequencing DNA.

The European polecat had never had its genome sequenced before so this was a new piece of research.

Rose said: 'It was really fun to participate in the national finals of the Big Bang Competition and it was great to share my research with members of the public and other finalists.

'I really enjoyed talking to the judges and the public about my project and showcasing what I had achieved.

'I was extremely happy to win the London International Youth Science Forum prize, as I never expected to win. There were so many interesting and inspiring projects at the finals and I feel very proud to have won. It demonstrates the importance of my research and shows that my research is of a high quality.'

The Big Bang event is a national competition that aims to recognise and reward young people's achievements in all areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and provide them with the opportunity to build their skills and confidence in project-based work.

The Big Bang Competition offers opportunities for young people to highlight their STEM projects and to recognise and reward their achievements.