Pupils’ designs for outdoor area beat 700 other entries to scoop £500 prize

STAFF and youngsters at Great Sankey Primary School have been jumping with joy after beating more than 700 schools to the top prize at a national competition in London.

Students at the Liverpool Road school wowed judges with their plans to transform the outdoor area by creating a ‘Splat Shed’, a combination of workshop, studio and gallery space, and can now make their idea a reality after scooping £5,000 in prize money.

Year six pupils Amelia Moore and Daniel Dean, who designed the Splat Shed idea, were invited to the School We’d Like final in London where they were announced as winners by former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton.

Head teacher Vicky Briggs said it was a fantastic achievement and everyone was very proud of the pupils.

The nationwide contest, run in conjunction with The Guardian newspaper, invited students and teachers to suggest designs that would improve the ‘quality of life’ for their school community.

Amelia and Daniel’s design was one of nine shortlisted in the Scotland and north region before the youngsters headed to Newcastle to take part in a Dragons Den-style final.

A spokesman from the competition said: “The 12 finalists wowed judges with their pitches during a nail-biting event. The standard was incredibly high and the competition was tough but only one winner in each category could walk away with a cheque.”