Winners received medals they had designed and cast themselves, in an innovative competition organised by the West Norfolk Academies Trust for students across its four high schools.

Year 8 students from Marshland, St Clement’s, Smithdon, and Springwood all took part in the casting contest, which required them to create their own medal design, with winners from each school progressing to the final.

The event was organised by St Clement’s Headteacher, Nigel Willingham, who leads Design and Technology across the Trust.

“A competition was held in all four high schools to design a medal,” he said. “The three winners from each school progressed to the casting day, where they learnt about sand casting, and had the opportunity to cast their medals in aluminium.

“The students travelled to complete the challenge at Smithdon High School, using their casting equipment.”

It was the second year the competition had taken place, with the final supported by SKF Coopers Engineering in King’s Lynn, where the company’s Gary Hellard was tasked with judging the winning entries.

Mr Willingham continued: “Mr Hellard showed students examples made by his company that are shipped around the world, and he explained that he first became interested in the manufacturing process when he saw it at school.”

The winners were announced as Dean Spooner and Charlotte Turpin from St Clement’s, and Abi Fysh and Lucy Kayes-Melton from Smithdon, while the winning designs included gears, a star, a mouse, and a medal for King’s Lynn Stars Speedway.

Mr Willingham added: “It was great to see students take on the challenge and experience a process used in industry but difficult to replicate in most schools.

“The students were delighted with how their designs had come out, and wore their new medals with pride.”

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