A game to build young people’s confidence and a revolutionary plan for a city have earned kudos for three Alderman Peel High School students in national competitions.

Grace Steele, 14 and Chloe Futter, 15, both in Year 10 at the Wells-next-the-Sea school, were named runners-up in the Pupil Design Awards 2020 for developing a game called Believe In Yourself.

The pair chose to tackle a ‘Positive Connections’ brief which involved helping young people use technology responsibly and in a way which develops positive relationships.

Their game aimed to boost mental health by creating easy ways for teenagers to talk to others without feeling anxious.

Grace and Chloe pitched the idea via video link to judges in the contest, who praised the “confidence, research and maturity” of the entry.

And Year 7 student Bethany Keenes, 11, was named secondary school runner up in a ‘Design a Sustainable City’ contest run as part of STEM Clubs Week.

The competition challenged young people from across the UK to design a city for lots of people to live in, but which avoided damaging the planet as much as possible.

The Holt youngster’s design imagined a city built from salvaged materials, using sheep wool for insulation and recycled plastic for roads.

Amanda Moffat, design and technology teacher at the school, said: “We would like to congratulate Grace and Chloe on their commitment and passion in designing a great product aimed at promoting a positive mind-set and to try and improve teenage mental health.

“This achievement is even more impressive by the fact that due to lockdown the initial workshop was moved online, they then needed to work together remotely to complete the project and for the final stage they were asked to pitch their ideas to the judges via a video call.”

Alastair Ogle, principal, said: “I am really proud that once again some of our excellent students have demonstrated the ability to produce work recognised as being among the best in the country. Congratulations to the students and Mrs Moffat for inspiring them to be so creative.”