Havant MP Alan Mak congratulates Warblington School pupils on reaching final of national sustainability competition

MP Alan Mak has congratulated a team of four pupils from a Havant school on reaching the national final of a sustainability competition.

Havant MP Alan Mak congratulated Warblington School pupils on reaching the final of a national sustainability competition | Alan Mak

placeholder image — Havant MP Alan Mak congratulated Warblington School pupils on reaching the final of a national sustainability competition | Alan Mak

He met the quartet from Warblington School in Parliament before they and 11 other school teams presented their ideas to judges in the Solutions For The Planet Big Ideas Competition 2026.

Zach Curnow-Hampe, Philip Dimkov, Franklin Tutt and Reuben Walker were highly commended for their renewable-powered cuboid disaster-relief appliance that provides essentials such as cooking, refrigeration, freezing, and clean water to help people live comfortably after natural disasters.

This year more than 3,000 11 to 14-year-old students from across England took part in the Big Ideas Programme, an award-winning STEM and Enterprise programme focussing on finding solutions to sustainability issues.

A total of 149 Big Ideas were submitted and the Warblington School team was among 57 from 26 schools who made it through to the regional finals.

Then they were selected as one of just 12 schools to be part of the national final.

Mr Mak said: "I enjoyed meeting Zach, Philip, Franklin and Reuben in Parliament to congratulate them on their idea, which could be really useful in disaster areas where people are in need of basic amenities.

"It is a fantastic achievement to make the national final and they should be very proud of themselves."