A County Durham school has taken first place in the 2021 National Final of the Big Ideas Competition, designed to inspire 11 to 14-year-olds across the nation to generate solutions to social, economic and environmental sustainability issues that matter to them.

Pupils at North Durham Academy in Stanley won their Regional Final of the competition earlier in June and have now been awarded first place after they presented their ideas to a virtual panel of judges at the National Final.

Solutions for the Planet’s Big Ideas Competition forms part of a programme of in-school activity that promotes education for sustainable development, social enterprise and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers, as well as enhancing personal development for each individual pupil.

The school’s winning team was Waste Warriors, whose Big Idea was an idea for a community garden where people can bring along their scrap food. The pupils will then grow new plants from the unwanted food or collect it for composting. When the fresh fruit and veg is ready, it will be given back to the people who originally donated it. The project will also encourage other Durham schools to work with the project and inspire restaurants and supermarkets to donate their unwanted food.

The winning Waste Warriors team.

The Waste Warriors team, Amy Armstrong, Katelyn Howey and Yuan Teng Zi He said: “We really enjoyed this competition and it helped a lot with our confidence, presentation skills and teamwork.

“We also talked to a lot of people and we learned about other people’s ideas and all the other problems around the world. We feel a lot more confident going into our idea and future projects. We would like to thank Solutions for the Planet, our mentor Alex and everyone else involved in helping us through to the finals of this competition.”

Students and teachers taking part in the Big Ideas Programme are supported by a team of mentors from Solutions for the Planet partners Northern Gas Networks, Tarmac, The Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM), SGN, Mears Group and a number of local business partners.

Alex Brightman, Hydrogen House Liaison Officer at Northern Gas Networks, mentored the winning North Durham Academy team.

She said: “As my first year as a mentor at Solutions for the Planet, I couldn’t have wished for a better team to mentor than Waste Warriors. Their work ethic and continued motivation to make their Big Idea the best really showed through their planning and work. I am super proud of the team and wish them all the best of luck with their idea and their futures. What an achievement!”

Northern Gas Networks employees receive two paid volunteering days every year which they can use to support local causes, charitable and community initiatives.

The winning school’s Head of Science Daniel Dalton said: “The girls were completely blown away with their success yesterday. A big thank you to Solutions for the Planet, the mentors and the judges.

“The programme has really brought the students out of their shells and the transformation in their confidence levels and presenting skills is astounding.”

Jen Baughan, CEO at Solutions for the Planet, said: “The Big Ideas Programme has big ambitions.  We forge partnerships between businesses and schools.  We encourage and nurture creativity, curiosity and collaboration in young people and their business volunteer mentors alike.  We challenge young people to come up Big Ideas to help tackle some of the world’s largest sustainability issues and adults to suspend their preconceived notions of what is possible.

“We blend community and business benefit, and everyone involved knows they are part of something bigger than themselves.  The Big Ideas Competition National Final was an incredible showcase of these ambitions being realised.  Continued engagement and investment from businesses in this agenda is critical, that agenda being their people (and future people) and the planet.  That’s our agenda and if it’s high on yours then get in touch with Solutions for the Planet.  My deepest thanks go to our current business partners for making that investment this year.”

Solutions for the Planet is a social enterprise, working nationally to build partnerships between businesses and schools to promote sustainability, STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and maths) and employability skills.  They engage around 30 schools and over 4000 students annually through their Big Ideas Programme, reaching over 23,000 young people to date.

For more information about Northern Gas Networks please visit northerngasnetworks.co.uk

For more information about Solutions for the Planet contact Programme Manager Sarah Milburn at sarah@solutionsfortheplanet.co.uk