Constituency winner announced in national school manufacturing competition

Alison Seabeck MP is proud to announce Luke Lockyer from Sir John Hunt Community Sports College as the winning pupil from Plymouth Moor View in the local round of the We Made It! competition, a national competition aimed at getting young people thinking about careers in manufacturing.

Hundreds of young people across the country have been busy designing gadgets and gizmos as part of an exciting competition which will see seven lucky winners turn their idea into a real-life prototype.

We Made It!”  invited 11 – 14 year olds throughout the UK to let their imagination run wild and design a brand new product, whether it be a gadget to help with homework or a piece of sports equipment to make PE more fun.

The idea behind the competition is that the children get to see that manufacturing is about design and creativity as well as hands-on making of the products. From fashion and video game consoles to cars and airplanes, there are many varied industries with manufacturing at their heart and in which exciting career opportunities exist.

Luke’s entry is one of 23 shortlisted entries selected from over 520 entries. The 23 shortlisted are selected by local Members of Parliament. All 23 winners and Members of Parliament are invited to an exclusive awards reception in the Houses of Parliament in March next year.

Commenting on the competition and the reasoning behind their selection, Alison Seabeck MP said: “I have received so many fantastic entries this year, it was truly hard to pick a winner. Luke’s idea had it all for me: simplicity, affordability, practicality and eco-friendliness. All I can say is that the local manufacturing, engineering and design industry better watch out because the next generation of thinkers and doers is on their way!”

“This is the second year I have been involved in this fantastic competition. It was exciting and encouraging to go through all the entries and this has now become one of my favourite events of the year.”

The 23 winning entries go through to the next stage of the competition, the formal judging day, where a panel of manufacturing experts whittle down the shortlist to seven national finalists, all of which get the chance to bring their designs to life by working with some of the UK’s Fab Lab’s, (digital fabrication laboratories) based all across the UK.

The national winner’s prototypes will be revealed for the first time at the awards ceremony in March.