Two Forsyth County high schools recently hosted Georgia Science Olympiad tournaments, an “academic track meet” of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, competitions.

On March 4, Forsyth Central High School hosted the Forsyth Regional Middle School Science Olympiad tournament, and South Forsyth High School hosted the elementary level tournament on March 11.

Twenty-two metro-Atlanta middle schools, including four from Forsyth, competed at Central.

The county’s middle schools received a total of 13 medals in nine categories.

“It’s very different than a lot of traditional science competitions that you’d think of,” said Kelly Price, Forsyth County Schools’ director of academic standards. “It’s extremely engaging, and the key thing I love about it is it’s collaborative. You can always compete in an event with at least one teammate, and there’s also an equal appeal to both girls and boys.

“We’re starting to see the strength of it growing, from elementary to middle to high school. We’re building that transitional growth, which is exciting.”

Thirteen teams from 11 Forsyth elementary schools competed at South, with the top two teams earning an invitation to compete in the May 13 Georgia Elementary Science Olympiad state tournament at Kennesaw State University.

Georgia Olympiad, an affiliate of the National Science Olympiad program, offers tournaments at each school level, and the recent tournaments serve as qualifiers for the state program.

All five of the county’s brick-and-mortar high schools have active teams. On March 25, Central will compete at Emory University along with the other top 23 teams in the state.

“Olympiad allows students to engage in their learning at a different level,” Price said. “The competitiveness is an attractive part, and the intensity of learning and preparation isn’t what you see in students’ everyday classrooms. It’s a whole other type of learning, and you’re learning on a team.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity, and I look forward to it expanding.”