2024 Winners
High Sheriff Young Engineer Awards Oxford
We are proud to showcase the 2024 winners of the annual High Sheriff Young Engineer Awards Oxford. These talented young engineers have impressed with their innovative designs, technical expertise.
Please see below for the full list of winners and their projects.
Kayley Kidger - Lord Williams's School
Winner – Year 8 & 9 Award
As part of the ‘Future of Cites’ project, Kayley developed a structural concept. Her design was supported by a third angle orthographic projection, which is a method of using 2D views to show a 3D design. The accuracy of angles and quality of rendering were outstanding for such a young pupil. Kayley also uses workshop machinery to bring her creations to life, testifying to her ambition as a designer.
Sophie Chan - Didcot Girls School
Winner – Year 10 & 11 Award and High Sheriff Award
Sophie designed and assembled a device that uses a Python programme to receive, decode and decipher Morse code. Sophie built her device on a Raspberry Pi single-board computer and included an easy-to-read LCD display to improve the user interface. Sophie also created an error-handling mechanism to make sure that her device stays functional and accurate.
Sophie developed her software engineering skills through online courses and video tutorials run by Cisco Cyber Camps and Crash Courses. She has also signed up to The Comprehensive Oxford Maths and Physics Online School (COMPOS), run by the Oxford University Physics Department, where she completes challenging maths and physics assignments.
Felix Richards - St. Birinus School
Winner – Year 12 & 13 Award
Felix, who has ADHD, developed a smart watch to help him manage his condition and improve his productivity. The device tells the time and presents an easy-to-manage To Do list. Felix created a dedicated physical device to avoid introducing a potentially distracting mobile app. Felix created the circuit, code, and body, and provided guidelines for the mass production of his product.
Team Award
Winner: King Alfred’s Academy – Connor Morgan, Charlie Frost, Oliver Wilkinson, James Haxworth, Alexandre Jose, Alex Jesus.
The team designed a signal characterisation device (a Main Magnet Current Monitor) for the beam-bending magnets at the ISIS Particle Accelerator on the Harwell Campus. This challenging project took five months. The prototype uses the Arduino platform to detect input current, check the signals received, and display the readings as clear data.
Before starting the design, the team conducted research to understand the context and project brief.
Although the team had three engineering mentors, the project was largely independent. The students only met with mentors for 30-60 minutes weekly. The team offered progress updates and shared problems, but they actioned advice by themselves.
The students created a technical report, summary poster, and project presentation, which they gave at the closing programme conference.
