The winning entries received a prize of £1,000 for their school to spend on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) or outdoor learning equipment, as well as the opportunity to present their ideas at the Houses of Parliament in November 2021.
Farming key role in teaching STEM
There were hundreds of entries to the annual competition, in its third year in 2021. The competition is the perfect way to demonstrate how farming can play a key role in teaching STEM subjects.
The 2021 challenge asked students to 'Create an invention, innovation or idea to help British farmers continue to care for the environment and become Climate Super Heroes'. The winners ranged from four- to 14-years-old.
Pioneering projects
NFU President Minette Batters said “It always gives me immense pride to see the genuinely pioneering things our children are coming up with to bring farming and the environment together, but this year the calibre of entries was truly special. They all clearly recognised farming’s vital role producing food for the nation, as well as the role it plays in caring for the environment.”
Skills gap
Minette went on to talk about the part that the students of today will play in agriculture in the future.
“We know from our NFU Education report 2021,” she said, “there are substantial skills gaps in careers based around STEM subjects and that using agriculture to teach these important subjects can help engage children at a crucial age and show them their potential for exciting STEM-based careers. Teachers tell us that Farmvention is a great way for schools to teach STEM in a practical way. This is why we wanted to reward those winning schools with additional funding towards STEM or outdoor learning, which we know is such an important element for teachers.
“We see year-on-year how much the nation’s school children love to get involved with farming as part of their education and we are working with government to recognise and promote the role that farming can play in teaching vital STEM subjects in an exciting and innovative way, which will make a huge difference for pupils, schools and wider society.”
The winners include
Name |
School |
Brief description |
|
Alfie Roberts |
Shoreham Village School |
Waste Saving App |
|
Edenham Home Edders |
Bourne Tuition |
Drones to help with flooding in Lincolnshire |
|
Gregory Laycock- Hammond |
Yatton Junior School |
A greenhouse for all seasons |
|
The SS 2021 (Sensor Sprinkler 2021) |
Wark C of E Primary School |
Watering system for polytunnels to reduce water use |
|
Multi Level Platform Farm Design |
City of London Freemens School |
Vertical farming system on salt marshes |
|
Aryan Soni – Smart Irrigation |
Wootton Park School |
Smart irrigation system |
|
Millie’s Carbon Footprint Flower Label Project |
Thomas's Clapham |
Labelling system for British Flowers |
|
Samay Kachalia |
Merchant Taylors School |
C Shift: A carbon recovery and soil injector |
|
Roland Christopher |
Kings (The Cathedral School) |
An arduino based lighting system for growing crops |
For more information
From the NFU
- Visit Farmvention.
- See the resources we offer schools on NFU education
- Read our full NFU Levelling Up Rural Britain report Levelling up rural Britain