St. Mary’s College student lands prestigious National Design and Technology Award!

1 Nov 2024

St. Mary’s College student Emily Jones has landed one of the top prizes in a prestigious national design and technology award scheme.

19-year-old Sixth Former Emily has been honoured with the Excellence Award for Outstanding Pupil in her age group in the 24^th Design and Technology Association Excellence Awards.

Established in 1999, these awards aim to recognise outstanding contributions to design and technology made by students, teachers, teacher trainers, education consultants and academics in primary, secondary, further and higher education.

Emily was presented with her award – sponsored by assessment and educational resources organisation WJEC CBAC – at a high-profile ceremony held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon in Warwickshire.

The award citation praised Emily for her ‘remarkable work ethic and passion for solving design challenges’. It also said that her projects ‘push the boundaries of modern design while enhancing lives’.

Particular projects singled out for recognition included a disaster aid relief product developed in partnership with a real-world client, and an exploration of brutalist architecture and its impact on mental health.

The judges also highlighted Emily’s work in providing guidance to other students in applying mathematical concepts, and her commitment to tutoring GCSE Science pupils.

Commenting on Emily’s achievement Tony Ryan, Chief Executive of the Design and Technology Association, said: “Emily is to be congratulated on her well-deserved award and celebrated for going above and beyond what might be expected in her contributions in the D&T classroom. 

“We need more students like Emily to continue to be inspired by D&T and potentially take it further in their education and career. She is passionate, motivated and I wish her every success in the future.”

Emily, who hails from Kirkby, said: “I was both surprised and thrilled to win this award and to have my work recognised in this way. Design and technology has been a huge part of my life over the last four years and has really changed the way I look at things.”

St. Mary’s College Head of Design and Technology, Ben Swan, added: “We’re all delighted for Emily who has produced some exceptional work and fully deserves this recognition from the sector’s leading professional association.”

Since being assessed for the award Emily has completed her time at St. Mary’s and has just embarked on a degree course in Architectural Technology at Liverpool John Moores University.