The postponement of this year’s STEMfest has been described as ‘regrettable’ by the Enterprise Minister who confirmed the problems lay with a lack of buses.

The event was due to be held this week and aims to inspire primary school children to be interested in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

Around 800 Year 5 and 6 students were due to gather at the Villa Marina on October 23 and 24. The event would be divided into three interactive zones: engineering/construction, science and technology/maths.

However, the Department for Enterprise said the event has had to be postponed over concerns not all children would be able to make their way to the event.

At the House of Keys this week, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Justin Moorhouse, to ask Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston what the cost was of arranging STEMFest and subsequently cancelling it.

He also asked whether the minister was informed of the proposed cancellation before the announcement was made and what alternatives were considered.

Mr Johnston confirmed buses were the main issue and said: ‘While it is regrettable STEMfest did not take place as originally planned, it has been postponed, not cancelled.

‘There was a £14,000 budget to hod the event but, with private sponsorship of £4,500 secured, it cost £9,500.

‘The event has not been cancelled and there are no additional costs at this stage. The budget will be carried forward for the rescheduled event.’

He also explained alternatives were considered, including bringing in private transport, getting parents to bring their children and even extending the event by a day to ensure as many children could make it as possible. But he said all had ‘significant drawbacks’ and would incur ‘extra costs’.

The event was a victim to the ongoing issues faced by Bus Vannin which has had to cancel services over the past few weeks due to a shortage of drivers.

It previously said the full service requires a total of 92 drivers but there are currently 10 vacancies for full-time drivers and others have been off work because of illness.

Mr Johnston said STEMfest will be rescheduled during the first quarter of 2025 and would announce a date ‘in the next month’.

At past STEMFest events, participants have been engaged in diverse activities, from bridge construction and coding robots to recording TV shows, grading the size of scallops, building boats and even driving diggers in a life-size simulator.