Five Projects from four secondary schools in Mayo have qualified for the 2018 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, which takes place in January.

Students from St Mary’s Convent of Mercy in Ballina have two projects in the exhibition, with one project each from Sacred Heart school in Westport, Ballinrobe Community School and Sancta Maria College, Louisburg.

This will be the 54^th year of the event, and 550 projects have been selected from over 2,000 submitted.

The organisers say social issues such as homelessness, transgender rights and mental health are among those being investigated in this year’s entries.

The overall winner of this year’s Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will represent Ireland in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Dublin next September.