Ingenious designers at a girls’ school have come up with a plethora of useful inventions as part of an annual engineering competition.
Pupils at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls put their scientific skills to the test to create a range of new products, including washing-up gloves which have scouring pads on the finger tips.
The HMSG STEM Challenge, sponsored by Renishaw plc, was won this year by Elisabeth in Year 9.
Her invention, which is set to make motorists’ lives much easier, has the potential to be a huge success – but details remain under wraps as she is in the process of having it patented.
Elisabeth, from Abergavenny, was presented with a Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile phone during the prize-giving assembly.
She said: “I think my invention will save people time and make their car journeys safer.
“I think the product has great potential and I would like to develop it further.
“If it does take off, I think it is something that most motorists could find useful and therefore the market will be very big.
“I’ve loved science from a young age, and being able to apply it to a product that helps people is very exciting.”
This year, 12 STEM Challenge entries from HMSG were sent away to Renishaw plc to be judged.
Renishaw donates £1,000 to a number of schools in Gloucestershire and South Wales to encourage boys and girls to consider studying engineering and science at university.
Anne Kavanagh, Head of Physics at HMSG, said: “The range of projects this year was inspiring and imaginative, including a comfortable grip for a pen, designed for people who experience difficulty with writing, research and experimentation on wind power to generate electricity, and snacks for young children.”
Georgiana in Year 13 took second place with her high altitude balloon project, winning an iPad mini, and Isabel in Year 10 won £150 of Amazon vouchers, taking third place with her pinhole photography research.
Mrs Kavanagh added: “The winners of the top three prizes completed excellent work.
“Isabel’s pinhole photography was full of interesting research and photos, which was summarised in the form of an A1 poster, Georgiana’s high altitude balloon portfolio was a ‘scrap book supreme’, and Elisabeth’s clever invention could make her fortune.
“It solves a very common problem experienced by car drivers.”
