Students from across Cumbria Education Trust gathered at The Whitehaven Academy for an inspiring showcase of creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving at the CET Innovate Final.
Now in its fourth year, CET Innovate continues to ignite entrepreneurial thinking across our Trust, encouraging students to dream big, think differently, and design solutions that could help change the world. This year’s challenge asked teams from KS1 to KS3 to come up with an innovative idea that helps the environment. Each team developed a prototype, created promotional materials, and delivered a pitch to a panel of expert judges.
Primary Winners: Caldew Lea Primary School – Warriors for the World
Their idea, Sea Swarm, is a submersible drone that helps tackle overfishing by selecting which types of fish to catch, releasing unneeded species back into the ocean. The team wowed the judges with their inventive approach and teamwork.
Secondary Winners: Workington Academy – Tyre Tamers
The Tyre Tamer is a universal device that clips behind vehicle wheels to capture harmful tyre particles. No tools. No hassle. Just protection for the planet. The team impressed with their clear pitch and a product idea that could genuinely reduce pollution from all vehicle types.
This year’s event brought together thirteen school teams, each of whom had already won their school’s internal competition. From portable planting kits and AI-powered recycling bins to robot litter collectors and eco air purifiers, the ideas were bold, brilliant, and environmentally conscious.
Judging such a high standard of entries wasn’t easy, and we extend our sincere thanks to our 2025 judging panel: Nick Polmear, Matt Butler, Sue Newstead, and Tom Martell, who praised the students’ innovation, purpose, creativity, and presentation skills.
Congratulations to all the students who took part. Whether you took home a trophy or not, your ideas, enthusiasm, and teamwork were truly outstanding. You are the future problem-solvers our world needs.
