Students from St Lawrence College Junior School in Ramsgate have been named as one of the winners of the Design4SDGs Design Challenge.
The youngsters scooped the top place for their innovative solution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals..
They appeared on the main stage of Bett UK 2024, the world’s biggest EdTech show, to demonstrate their ideas to help reduce food waste by using smaller trays with custom stickers that indicate that less food should be served by kitchen staff.
The children also worked to introduce the ‘scrape away system’, to serve as a visual guide for students to see how much food gets thrown away every day.
Bett UK, which took place at London’s ExCeL Centre from 24-26 January, brought together more than 30,000 educators, innovators, and changemakers from around the globe looking to make a genuine impact on the lives of teachers and learners.
Students, aged 9-14, were selected from 45 schools from across the UK. The Design4SDGs Design Challenge, now in its second year at Bett UK, was launched by educator and Innovation X Founder Evo Hannan.
Emma Vandore, Head of Content at Bett, said: “Congratulations to students at St Lawrence College Junior School for being among the winners of the Design4SDGs Design Challenge. We were so pleased to welcome your wonderfully creative team to the Bett UK stage.
“Your innovative solution is a vital reminder that lasting change starts with small-scale, grassroots actions. In these critical times, it is so important to listen to the young people who will be on the frontlines of solving humanity’s greatest challenges head-on.”
Evo Hannan, founder of Innovation X, who runs the awards, added: “It was thrilling for the Design4SDGs Design Challenge to be back on the Bett UK stage for the second year running. Congratulations to students at St Lawrence College Junior School for their fantastic innovations, and thank you to all the students who took part.”
The challenge aims to drive grassroot innovation in schools across four key areas: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. This year, students were tasked with finding a solution to one of the following Sustainable Development Goals:
- Good Health & Well-being
- Quality Education
- Gender Equality
- Sustainable Cities & Communities
- Responsible Consumption & Production
- Climate Action
The St Lawrence College win was in the Responsible Consumption & Production category.