Scottish Pupil designs Bench Bed to help the homeless
Libby, from Cockenzie Primary School in East Lothian, submitted her engineering idea to Primary Engineer’s annual UK STEM competition which asks pupils aged 3 –19 the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?”.
She was recognised as one of the winners in her year group at the Scotland South East award ceremony, one of 25 regional UK events, in 2024.
Her creation is a bench by day but can become a bed by night, folding down to become a bed with walls surrounding it making it a warm environment for homeless people to sleep in. The design has been praised for its social impact, practicality, and real-world potential.
Each year Industry and University partners of Primary Engineer choose a pupil’s idea to build into a Prototype and to be revealed a year later at the regional awards ceremony.
The University of Edinburgh, School of Engineering selected Libby’s idea to bring to life during the 2024-2025 academic year because it was brilliant to see a young person caring for those in a less fortunate position than themselves, putting in time and effort to think of how to improve their situation by giving them a safe, warm, and dry place to sleep. It was particularly heartening to see that the pupil was thinking of more than just her community, stating “there are millions of homeless people all around the world”.
Dr Katie Grant, Widening Participation and Outreach Manager at the university said “We were blown away by Libby’s compassion for others and her brilliant engineering design. The whole ProtoTeam has really enjoyed working with Libby over the last year. The competition has given her a great opportunity to learn more about the different aspects of what it is like to be an engineer and we are thrilled that she is even considering engineering as a future career path!”
The team of technicians at The University worked closely with Libby, invited her to the university and involved her in the design process. Libby said “I really enjoyed being involved in Primary Engineer. It has been an amazing experience for me, getting to go to the university and take part in making my bench. Everyone on the team is super friendly and I loved working with them. I really felt like I was part of the team. I loved getting to see the final product and how far it’s come! Thank you!”
The finished prototype was officially unveiled on 28th May 2025 at the Scotland South East regional award ceremony hosted at The University of Edinburgh. Libby’s family attended the event said they were “very proud” of her. Kelly, Libby’s mum, commented to say “Being involved in Primary Engineer has been such good experience. It has been lovely to see Libby grow in confidence, speaking to the team and other agencies. It was great being part of the ceremony, seeing all the other children’s ideas and seeing the final bench”
“If you were an Engineer, what would you do” is an annual, national competition free to enter for all 3-19 school pupils. Entries are open now for 2025-2026 and schools can register now at www.leadersaward.com
Primary Engineer Public Exhibitions and Award Ceremonies continue all over the UK through to July, with a total of 18 prototypes being unveiled. Read more about the prototypes.
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Editors Notes:
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About Primary Engineer:
Primary Engineer®, since 2005, have developed an engineering curriculum that spans Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Further Education institutions. Its core aims include; the development of children and young people through engagement with engineering, the promotion of engineering careers through inspiring programmes and competitions, the development of engineering skills for teachers and practitioners addressing the inequalities in engineering.
We developed a project-based learning approach to education which enables children and pupils to engage with practical math’s and science alongside creative problem solving and literacy. It has been described as STEM by Stealth® due to the integrated curriculum nature of the programmes which also develop resilience and curiosity.
Strong links to engineers and the industries they work in provides an opportunity for both pupils and teachers to expand their knowledge of careers, career paths and opportunities.