Lancashire pupils celebrated in national engineering competition
An awards and exhibition event was held on Thursday 14th May 2026 at the Engineering Innovation Centre at The University of Lancashire, which showcased and celebrated local school pupils across Lancashire region for their engineering ideas submitted to the Primary Engineer annual UK STEM competition.
These pupils had taken part in a UK-wide competition, run by educational not-for-profit Primary Engineer, where they answered the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?”. Pupils aged 3-19 are tasked with interviewing an engineer before being asked to identify a problem in the world around them and drawing and annotating a solution and adding a letter explaining why an engineer should choose to build it!
All entries are read and graded by engineering professionals, with every single pupil who takes part receiving a named and graded certificate. They are graded based on the quality of the idea and the problem, large or small, that it is solving. Shortlisted entries are then sent to exclusive judging days where the invited judges, formed from leading industry and engineering professionals, select the designs to be celebrated at 25 regional Award Ceremonies.
The competition culminates in exciting regional public exhibitions and award ceremonies, where teachers, pupils, their families and industry professionals are invited to celebrate ingenuity and create lasting memories. The shortlisted designs are displayed, and the winners and those who are highly commended are invited on stage to receive their awards, with a surprise award for the judge’s favourite at the end.
The highly commended and winning pupils were awarded trophies and framed certificates of their ideas, with 47 pupils from schools in the county being celebrated.
Nursery
- Winners – Cody W, St Thomas the Martyr
- Winners – Delilah O, St Thomas the Martyr
Reception
- Highly Commended – James W, Clitheroe Pendle Primary School
- Highly Commended – Jake T, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
- Winners – Othman A, Roots and Wings Community Group
- Winners – Minnie B, Clitheroe Pendle Primary School
Year 1
- Highly Commended – Harvey J, Kirkham Grammar School
- Highly Commended – Aarifa, Blackburn the Redeeemer CofE Primary
- Winners – Violette, Clitheroe Pendle Primary School
- Winners – Evadine W, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
Year 2
- Highly Commended – Tia H, Saint Michael & All Angels CofE VA Primary School
- Highly Commended – Abu-Bakr, Roots and Wings Community Group
- Winners – Lydia, Blackburn the Redeeemer CofE Primary
- Winners – Emelia, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
Year 3
- Highly Commended -Harper K, St Thomas the Martyr
- Highly Commended – Mariam, Deepdale Community School
- Winners – Stephanie K, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
- Winners – Abrish, Deepdale Community School
Year 4
- Highly Commended – Joshua A, Home Educated
- Highly Commended – Ophelia P, St Bartholomews Great Harwood
- Winners – Muhammed H, Deepdale Community School
- Winners – Lorelei W, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
Year 5
- Highly Commended – Nora, Saint Michael & All Angels CofE VA Primary School
- Highly Commended – Daisy, The Redeeemer CofE Primary
- Winners – Khadya P, Deepdale Community School
- Winners – Catherine L, Crawford Village Primary School
Year 6
- Highly Commended – Charlie H, St Thomas the Martyr
- Highly Commended – Jake C, St Thomas the Martyr
- Winners – Aryaam, Deepdale Community School
- Winners – Jimmy G, Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School
Year 7
- Highly Commended – Chloe H, Kirkham Grammar School
- Highly Commended – Sofia P, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Millie W, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Joseph S, Park Community Academy
Year 8
- Highly Commended – Jack K, Kirkham Grammar School
- Highly Commended – Sisley L, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Thomas R, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Malachi M, Kirkham Grammar School
Year 9
- Highly Commended – Annie R, Kirkham Grammar School
- Highly Commended – Amelia M, Penwortham Girls’ High School
- Winners – Olivia B, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Izzy Robertson, Penwortham Girls’ High School
Year 10
- Winners – Nicole H, Kirkham Grammar School
- Winners – Florence S, Kirkham Grammar School
Year 13
- Highly Commended – Kieron W, Park Community Academy
- Winners – Jonathan K, Park Community Academy
- Winners – Jason H, Park Community Academy
Congratulations to all the pupils, including Year 4 pupil, Lorelei, from Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, whose idea “The Ticalace” stood out for the judges and won the special ‘Judges Award’. The idea, a necklace filled with sensors, is made especially for people with vocal tics to explain through a recorded message that the “tics are involuntary and the words aren’t intended to cause offense”.
Every year University and Industry Partners of Primary Engineer select an idea to turn into a working Prototype from the previous year’s shortlisted designs. The ‘idea name ‘Con Bot’ prototype was unveiled at the ceremony, brought to life by Alexander Dennis, based on the idea of year 6 home educated student, Yusra. She created a smart and thoughtful idea based on a problem familiar to anyone who travels in a car or bus. Condensation on the inside of windows can be annoying and at times difficult to clear. A demister works on a windscreen but not on side windows. This sparked her idea for a small robot that could move across the glass and clear the mist as it goes. The Alexander Dennis ProtoTeam welcomed Yusra and her family to their Skelmersdale site and kept her involved as the build progressed. It was great to see it unveiled during the award ceremony.
Thank you to our National and Regional partners for fully-funding this competition and helping us bringing engineering into classrooms in Lancashire.
Relive the event highlight by viewing the full photo album on Facebook: Primary Engineer | Facebook
The 2026/27 Competition is Officially OPEN so get involved to experience the fun! Register for full competition access and resources here: https://leadersaward.com/resource-area-registration/
Primary Engineer Public Exhibitions and Award Ceremonies continue all over the UK through to July, with thousands of pupils engineering ideas being displayed for all to see. Find out more: https://leadersaward.com/exhibitions-and-events/