SCHOOLCHILDREN wowed judges with their creativity at an innovation competition.
Pupils from across the Bracknell Forest and Wokingham districts took part in in the Young Innovators Challenge organised by science-based technology company 3M.
Meadow Vale Primary School scooped first prize and £750 thanks to the efforts of sisters Helena Hughes, eight, and her sister Sofia, nine, who built a bridge from specified materials that was as light and strong as possible.
Helena said: “To test that it would hold the weight we got our sister Nina, who is five, to hang from it.
“It was nerve-wracking when the judges hung weights from the bridge and when it didn’t break I was so relieved that I cried!”
The event aims to inspire the next generation of original thinkers and proved to be a great success with some unique entries.
The presentation night was held at 3M’s head office in Bracknell on Thursday night and awarded prizes in four categories.
Meadow Vale Primary School was presented with a further £750 in educational equipment thanks to Harleen Rait, 10, who made a musical instrument out of a broom handle, an empty hair gel pot and metal string.
Harleen said: “I got the idea for making a tumbi from watching a YouTube video and had three attempts before coming up with the final version.”
Ranelagh School also scored a double victory with its pupils winning both of the competition’s two challenge categories for secondary schools, collecting £750 worth of equipment for each.
Ella Azzopardi and Abbie-Louise Chapman, aged 13 and 12, made a structure with maximum slenderness and load capacity but with minimum total mass – using Pringles tubes, a popcorn tub and Lego bricks.
Ranelagh Years 8 and 9 team members Stephanie Barter, Hannah Bennett, Seline Crowe, Isabella Myers and Phoebe Walker also won ac category by constructing a child’s item of furniture from recycled or sustainable materials, creating a desk in the shape of a giraffe, complete with hosepipe tail and school scarf.
Some 37 teams entered the 3M Young Innovators Challenge, made up of 119 students from 11 primary and secondary schools, with each of the winners presented with £50 gift vouchers for themselves.
During the awards evening, visitors had the chance to see the finalists’ work for themselves and chat to the pupils.
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