A team of East Ham pupils has been named as one of 13 winners in a national schools’ science competition run by Shell.

Newham Recorder: Television presenter Rachel Riley poses with students during Make the Future London 2016 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, July 2016. Picture: Mark Pain for ShellTelevision presenter Rachel Riley poses with students during Make the Future London 2016 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, July 2016. Picture: Mark Pain for Shell (Image: Archant)

Five Year Nine children from Brampton Manor Academy beat hundreds of entries in The Bright Ideas Challenge, part of energy company Shell’s commitment to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Their £1,500 winning proposal involved burning food waste to turn it into ‘food fuel’ thereby creating a key source of sustainable energy for the cities of 2050.

The judges were said to be impressed by the team’s creative thinking and sound scientific research.

Speaking about their success, Anees Mumtaz, Suffyan Mahmood, Jabir Salek, Hamse Farah and Rabir Hussain, said: “The Bright Ideas Challenge really got us thinking about the future we’ll be living in.

“It’s inspiring to see how the things we’ve learnt about in science can change the world.

“The whole school is excited about the money we’ve won and the difference it will make to our science lessons.”

The Bright Ideas Challenge, which is in its second year, asks students aged 11-14 to use their STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills to come up with creative solutions for powering future cities.

Brampton Manor Academy science teacher Mr Jittla said: ‘It has made our students feel different about science because they have been able to take forward their ideas from classroom learning, develop these into ideas for the real world and really see how much benefit they can personally bring with the learning they do in school every day.”

“You can see teamwork and communication skills develop in them as they complete the challenge and it’s great to see those skills develop at such a young age.”

As well as winning money for their school, the pupils will also get to meet TV maths expert and Bright Ideas Challenge ambasssador Rachel Riley at Shell’s Make The Future Live festival.

The four-day free event about energy ideas and innovation takes place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, from May 25 to 28.

Tickets are still available. Visit shell.co.uk/makethefuturelive to find out more.