The Secretary of State for Education Nicky Morgan was guest of honour at the grand final of the 2016 3M Young Innovators Challenge held at Loughborough College on 20 May.

The Challenge had attracted a grand total of 184 entries – a massive increase of 84 per cent over last year – and involved some 567 pupils and students from 37 different schools in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

“I think the 3M Young Innovators Challenge is phenomenal,” Mrs Morgan said. “It’s about inspiring scientists and engineering talent of the future.

“We want to fire a young person’s imagination about working for a company like 3M or an industry like theirs, but actually starting early and showing what fun it can be is really important – and that is what the challenge does.”

The aim of the annual competition, which is run in partnership with the Loughborough Echo, is to encourage and inspire all young people to study the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths at school and beyond.

“We want to positively impact young people’s career choices by showing how STEM subjects give access to a wide range of dynamic and fulfilling opportunities,” 3M Reputation Communications manager Rosalind Smith told the audience of more than 200 students, parents and teachers.

“We also want to encourage young people’s creativity, confidence, team-working and organisational skills.”

A new category for the scheme this year was the Canyon Crossing Challenge for primary school children.

Pupils were asked to design and build a bridge which could hold up to 10 kilos while weighing as little as possible. It was won by Ivan, a year 5 student at Fairfield Preparatory School in Loughborough, who taught himself to knit to make a bridge inspired by a Hawaiian hammock.

A Super Food Challenge was run for the second year and was open to primary and secondary school entries to develop and make a healthy snack or drink, considering its nutritional content and the scientific processes involved in its production.

The younger age group was won by a team from Mountfields Lodge Primary School in Loughborough with their Mexicorn – a Mexican-inspired spicy popcorn. A team from Limehurst Academy was the winning secondary school with Sublime Bites, packed with Italian-style vegetables and a smiley low-fat cheese ‘face’.

The Eco Tech Challenge set the task of creating either an eco-accessory or a decorative garden sculpture from recycled material

Harriet Mount from Waltham on the Wolds Primary School was the primary school winner for welding a model sheep out of discarded horseshoes. The secondary school winner was a team from Our Lady’s Convent School in Loughborough for a range of knitted bags and accessories made from surplus local council recycling bags.

The final challenge was the Science Detectives Challenge, which was organised with the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences at Leicester’s De Montfort University, a leading centre for the teaching of forensic science. Secondary school students had to solve the case of the ‘Priceless Diamond Necklace Ransom’ and the winners were from Ivanhoe College at Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Each of the winners won prizes worth £750 for their schools and individual £50 gift tokens.

It was announced that more than 160 pupils and students who took part in the Young Innovators programme have also achieved a British Science Association CREST Award – a UK-wide STEM enrichment scheme that enables students to gain a nationally recognised accreditation for their personal statements. Their entries were all funded by 3M.

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