The Qatar e-Nature Schools Contest 2017, under the patronage of HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi, concluded with the final live round and awards ceremony.
Present on the occasion was Khalifa Saad al-Derham, director of Schools Affairs and representative of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
International integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol and Friends of the Environment Centre (FEC) celebrated the winners of the competition in the presence of government and civil society figures, teachers, students and parents.
The 2017 competition consisted of a series of interactive elimination rounds in which teams answered questions in order to gain points. This year, around 250 students, representing 43 independent schools and 41 private schools, from across Qatar participated in the fourth edition of the contest. 
Elite International School won the Qatar e-Nature Schools Contest 2017 and the team of three students received a voucher worth QR12,000. A gold medal was also awarded to each participant. 
Al Shaqab Primary School for Girls finished second and the team members got a voucher worth QR9,000 and a silver medal each. Al Khansaa Independent School for Girls bagged the third place, with the team members receiving a voucher worth QR6,000 and a bronze medal each. 
Nord Anglia International School was fourth while Abi Haneefa Model School for Boys finished fifth. The members of these teams received vouchers worth QR3,000 and QR1,500, respectively. 
Questions covering topics such as flora, animals and nature reserves in Qatar were posed to the participants, based on information contained in the Qatar e-Nature application.
Representing HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education, al-Dirham said: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Sasol and the Friends of the Environment Centre on this great initiative.” 
In addition, the five schools participating in the finals were presented with a Qatar e-Nature award each while certificates were given to teams from the 84 schools that participated. A trophy was also presented to Maimounah Independent School for Girls, which hosted the quarter-final and semi-final rounds.  
Khaled al-Anzi, representative of FEC, said: “We are immensely proud of the outcome of the Qatar e-Nature schools contest 2017.”
The ceremony also featured two performances by more than 30 students from Al Markhiyah and Khadeeja Bint Khowaylid schools.
Phinda Vilakazi, president of GTL Ventures at Sasol, added: “We are delighted to see year after year amazing talent with unique abilities and skills competing in the contest.”