Posted on / in 'If you were an engineer' Competition

North East shines spotlight on school pupils big ideas!

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 culminated on 2nd June 2026 in Sunderland in an exciting regional public exhibition and award ceremony, where teachers, pupils, their families and industry professionals were invited to celebrate local ingenuity and create lasting memories. The shortlisted designs were displayed, and the winners and those who were highly commended were 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 31 pupils from schools across our ‘North East England’ region being celebrated.

Nursery

  • Highly Commended – Ivy, Harton Primary School

Reception

  • Highly Commended – Alana C, Coquet Park First School
  • Highly Commended – Leah L – Newcastle High School for Girls Junior School
  • Winner – Robyn L, Coquet Park First School
  • Winner – Sean M, Simonside Primary School

Year 1

  • Highly Commended – Sophie B, Dame Allan’s Junior School
  • Highly Commended – Jimmy L, Dame Allan’s Junior School
  • Winner – Ada S, Burnside Primary School
  • Winner – Rubin H, Dame Allan’s Junior School

Year 2

  • Highly Commended – Olivia L, Harton Primary School
  • Highly Commended – Eddie G, Home Educated
  • Winner – Rosie T, Dame Allan’s Junior School
  • Winner – Elodie C, St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School

Year 3

  • Highly Commended – Julius S, St Teresa’s XCatholic Primary School
  • Highly Commended – Aarin P, Dame Allan’s Junior School
  • Winner – Jaafer R, Bridgewater Community School
  • Winner – Wilf Hall, Dame Allan’s Junior School

Year 4

  • Highly Commended – Leonie C, Coquet Park First School
  • Highly Commended – Erin S, Easington Colliery Primary School
  • Winners – Joel H, St Mary’s Catholic School
  • Winners – Eleanor M, Harton Primary School

Year 5

  • Highly Commended – Erin W, Cragside Primary School
  • Highly Commended – Kate A, Newcastle High School for Girls
  • Winners – Hallie S, Harton Primary School
  • Winners – Amelia D, Greenland Primary School

Year 6

  • Highly Commended – Millie B, Fulwell Junior School
  • Highly Commended – Kinara G, Lord Blyton Primary
  • Winner – Henry M, Burnside Primary School
  • Winner – Ethan B, Fulwell Junior School

Year 7

  • Winner – Adhiyagna S C, Gosforth Central Middle School

Year 8

  • Winner – Ruby B, Wellfield School

Congratulations to all the pupils, including Year 6 pupil, Henry, from Burnside Primary School, whose idea “Anti Fire Grenade” stood out for the judges and won the special ‘Judges Award’.

Thank you to our National and Regional partners for fully-funding this competition and helping us bringing engineering into classrooms in the North East of England.

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/