MINEHEAD Middle School pupils Oliver Shaddick and Callum Turner, both 13, have won a coveted TeenTech Award for an innovative skateboard they designed.
The year eight pupils spent months perfecting their project – which entertains skateboarders with a built-in speaker, and has LED lights to solve the problem of not being seen at night.
Now the pair will present their design to Prince Andrew, the patron of TeenTech, at a prize-giving ceremony at Buckingham Palace in the autumn.
“We invented this because we thought it would improve safety for skateboarders, at the same time as keeping them entertained,” said Callum.
“We have had a great time making it work and are now looking forward to meeting the Duke of York and seeing Buckingham Palace,” said Oliver.
Nick Bury, head of computing at Minehead Middle School, said it was an incredible achievement and the boys were a massive credit to the school: “We are so, so proud of them and what they’ve achieved.
“The experience has really inspired them, and many other students in the school, to consider their future career opportunities.”
He said neither Callum nor Oliver were keen skateboarders. They were just thinking of how to make skateboarding safer with something children would actually want to use.
TeenTech is an award-winning, industry-led initiative, and the annual awards challenge young people aged 11to 19 to tackle key societal and environmental issues through science, technology and engineering.