TOP awards for engineering projects have been awarded to pupils from a school in the New Forest.

A group of technologically-minded year eight and nine students from independent Ballard School, in New Milton, scooped the accolades at the TeenTech Solent engineering challenge held at Portsmouth Guildhall.

The event is part of the national Teentech events, which aim to inspire pupils about the world of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Those taking part were were encouraged to hypothesise and plan their own engineering projects at the event, which would then be pitched against other pupils from schools in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The year eight pupils from Ballard School were awarded first place in their age category for their Go Collect waste collection and monitoring system that rewards and monitors effective waste collection.

Ballard School’s year nine pupils were also awarded first place in their age category for their Brainwaves – Dream for a Better World system, where dreams are recorded to enable enhanced-performance, whilst also having the ability to be used as an analytical tool for therapy.

Andy Maskell, Head of STEM at Ballard School and Fellow of the Sinnott Teaching Fellowship, said: “By challenging pupils to think independently, analyse situations and develop solutions to problems, our pupils are able to produce impressive products using a range of methods. I’m proud to see that the pupils’ STEM abilities have shone through at TeenTech Solent.”