The Challenge for Change Interschool Finals took place on Wednesday at the Games Global offices, bringing together winning teams from secondary schools across the island.

Each team presented an idea aimed at tackling one of four environmental issues: food waste, energy waste, littering or fast fashion.

Organisers said the standard of presentations was exceptionally high, with pupils demonstrating creativity, teamwork and a strong understanding of sustainability challenges.

The overall winners were a team from Ballakermeen High School called ‘Low Expectations’, whose idea, Scan Chef, impressed judges. The app concept is designed to help families and university students reduce food waste by making better use of ingredients they already have at home.

Despite the close competition, the Ballakermeen team were selected as overall winners following a tightly contested final.

A spokesperson from Junior Achievement, who organised the event, commented: ‘The standard of the competition was incredibly high, making it a very close contest.

‘Every team should be immensely proud of what they achieved. Their confidence, teamwork and innovative thinking were inspiring to see, demonstrating just how passionate young people are about creating a more sustainable future.’

The event was hosted and sponsored by Games Global, which also supported the programme throughout. Special thanks were given to Stuart McLean and the wider Games Global team for their involvement.

Judges for the competition were Lady Lorimer MBE, Aly Lewin, Climate Change Director at DEFA, and Rachael Cringle and Mark Britton from Games Global.

Organisers also thanked FLA Woodwork and Design for donating a handcrafted Manx wood trophy, with engraving provided by DaleWood Craft Designs.

To find out more about Junior Achievement’s programs and initiatives, you can visit https://www.jaiom.im/