Eleanor from HMSG was awarded with the prestigious Intellectual Property Award prize at the recent Innovations Awards held by the WJEC. Her A level project was picked out from 500 nominations across Wales with its combination of craftsmanship and crisp innovative design making the lectern stand out.

The Innovation Awards, sponsored by the Department for Innovation, were held at The Senedd in Cardiff on Friday 11th December. At this year’s event, 12 young Welsh innovators took to the stage to collect their well-deserved prizes. The award scheme has been run by WJEC and Welsh Government since 1998, and each year highlights the extent of technological innovation amongst 14-19 year olds in Wales.

She was presented with her prize by David Rosser (Head of Innovation, Welsh Government). Eleanor is currently completing her foundation year in Art before going on to study Product Design at University

Brief: Laminating materials can often enhance and change the properties of a component/product as well as enhancing the visual appeal of the product. Design and make a product which utilises the aesthetic and/or structural qualities of laminated materials.

Project: The lectern I have produced was designed as a commemorative piece to be installed in St Dinats church in Dingestow, Monmouthshire.

The lectern specifically commemorates the life of Sapper Smith, the only man not to return to Dingestow after the Great War. I gained inspiration for the design from art movements popular at the time, geometric shapes and the idea of new beginnings. I also considered imagery related to the first world war and visited the church to study the location and situation the lectern would be used in.

“I found that choosing a design to develop was very hard and benefitted greatly from modelling my ideas to explore shape and form.

The final piece uses similar materials to traditional church furniture but is a more open and contemporary design. The design uses laminating as an efficient and economically sound manufacturing technique and helps to produce a strong and durable piece that can be moved easily in the church.

I am pleased with the range of techniques involved in the project and the way the bible rest does not detract from the overall shape but is also interesting, relevant and functional.”

Over at Monmouth School, Oliver Stokes won first prize for the A level category, along with the competition’s coveted overall first prize for his portable soda stream.

The OM, who left Monmouth last year, gave his gadget the snappy title of Gas2Go.

He said: “I really enjoyed the manufacture of my final year project as this type of engineering is very much what I want to do as a career. Making my own design made it all the more exciting to see the final idea realised.

“My recent success at the Innovation Awards has galvanised my engineering ambitions and I’m currently looking at apprenticeships either before or during my university course.

“I have a few projects on the go at the moment but, most importantly, I’m working hard on the presentation for the Big Bang Competition at the NEC.”

Thomas, currently in upper sixth form, took second prize in the AS level category with his portable washing machine.