Exwick Heights Primary School won the primary category at the Ted Wragg Trust’s Innovation Competition. Five Year 5 pupils spent six months researching, designing and building their “out of this world” project before presenting it to judges.
An Exeter primary school has won a prestigious innovation competition for the fifth consecutive year after pupils designed a sustainable habitat for future explorers on Mars.
Exwick Heights Primary School claimed first place in the primary category of the Ted Wragg Trust’s Innovation Competition, held at the Exeter Future Skills Centre.
The Year 5 pupils - Iain, Lucas, Jesse, Evie and Lili - all aged 10, spent six months researching, designing and building their “out of this world” project before presenting it to fellow students, schools from across the Ted Wragg Trust and a panel of industry experts.
Exwick Heights designed a sustainable Mars exploration habitat featuring hydroponic growing systems to produce food efficiently indoors without soil, helping supply fresh food for future astronauts.
To help them prepare for their project, the pupils also visited a Cavanna Homes development, where they gathered ideas for their project, including pressurised double-door entrances, food-growing areas and a range of sustainable energy sources.
Innovation team member Lucas, aged 10, said: “I was the researcher and one thing I loved about the project was building the model of the sustainable Martian exploration habitat. I also loved being part of a team that worked so well together. I loved naming the team and growing in confidence every time we practiced our presentation. The competition was very exciting and fun even though we were nervous, it was a great day."
Innovation Lead Fiona Lloyd-Seetim said: "Winning this innovation competition for the fifth consecutive year is a fantastic achievement and a real testament to the creativity, dedication and collaborative spirit of our teams over the years.”
Pupils from across the Ted Wragg Trust were challenged to spend six months designing either a low-carbon sustainable subsea habitat or a Martian exploration habitat while also creating a school eco-event linked to their Climate Action Plan.
The Exwick Heights team impressed judges with their sustainable Mars habitat which explored how people could live sustainably on Mars through expert consultation, hydroponic growing experiments and the use of sustainable materials.
Judges praised the pupils commenting: “This was an outstanding project that demonstrated creativity, scientific rigour and excellent problem-solving skills.”
The pupils also considered the social challenges of living on another planet, including mental health and wellbeing, and openly discussed the limitations of their proposed solutions.
Judges added: “The team presented a highly innovative and exceptionally well thought-out concept, supported by excellent research and creative, practical solutions. Their project demonstrated outstanding teamwork, with all members contributing through sketches, models, presentations and testing.”
The judging panel included Simon N. Evetts, Director of Space at NauteXe Global based at Exeter Science Park, who has more than 35 years’ experience supporting astronaut health; Joel Smith, Social Value Manager at Willmott Dixon; Lucy Robbins, Social Value Coordinator at Vistry Group; Joseph Beale, Civil Engineering Technician and Innovation Lead at AtkinsRéalis; and Jayesh Elson, Principal Technician at AWP.
Headteacher Gemma Wills said: “We are incredibly proud of our pupils. Their success is the result of months of curiosity, creativity, teamwork and determination. They thoroughly immersed themselves in the project, developing innovative ideas and presenting them with real confidence and enthusiasm.
“Opportunities like this inspire children to think big and see how the skills they develop today can help shape the future. Well done to every member of the team on this fantastic achievement."
In the secondary category of the competition, students Beau, Ralph, Sophia, Lilliana and Filip from West Exe School were highly commended for their “thoughtful and impressive project that showcased creativity, teamwork, and excellent planning.”
The competition also recognised outstanding work from pupils across the Trust, with Marine Academy Secondary taking the secondary school title. Highly commended awards were presented to Whipton Barton Federation for Teamwork, Queen Elizabeth’s School for Impact, Lipson Co-operative Academy for Innovation, Matford Brook Academy for Creativity, Marine Academy Primary for both Final Presentation and Primary, and West Exe School in the Secondary category.
Julie Fossey, Director of the Ted Wragg Institute at the Ted Wragg Trust, said:
"It’s been inspiring to see young people take on complex real-world challenges with such confidence and enthusiasm. The quality of thinking, research and innovation on display has been remarkable. At the Ted Wragg Trust we are committed to giving our pupils opportunities outside the classroom that bring learning to life, enabling pupils to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways while developing skills that will support them throughout their education and beyond.
“Congratulations to all of our winners and highly commended teams on an outstanding achievement. We couldn’t be prouder of you. A huge thank you to all our partners and judges for making the day such a fantastic experience for our students.”
The Devon-wide competition was organised by the Ted Wragg Trust in partnership with Exeter College, the South West Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC), Willmott Dixon, Nautexe Global, AtkinsRéalis, AWP, Vistry Group, Building Greater Exeter and the Green Skills Advisory Panel.
Exeter College is the lead training provider for the South West CTEC, which brings together education and industry partners to share best practice, promote innovation and support the development of future talent within the construction sector.
The competition encourages young people to develop engineering, sustainability and problem-solving skills while tackling real-world environmental challenges.
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