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In this section: Dartford Gas> Littlebrook Power Station > Inventors Competition

MILLENNIUM GATEWAY FESTIVAL SCHOOLS' INVENTORS COMPETITION

A newspaper in 1999 described Dartford as "one town that has changed the world", referring to the fact that its people had played a key role in major technological innovations in the past such as :

The tablet
The first paper factory
Canned food
The maxim gun
A nineteenth century flying machine
Many of the inventions concerned with the manufacture of paper and cement.

 

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The mural at One Bell Corner, Dartford town centre, painted by Wallscapes.
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As part of the Millennium Gateway Festival's celebrations of that heritage pupils in Dartford's schools were invited to join that list of illustrious inventors by participating in an inventions competition. The competition was launched in July 1999 by Trevor Bayliss, the TV personality and inventor of the clockwork radio and many other technological ideas.

  
Competition prizewinners
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Click the photo for details of prizewinners and their inventions.

Students in Key Stages 2, 3, and 4 were required to submit entries on the theme of "The Home" and had to include a design folio and a manufactured artefact produced from resistant materials, textiles, control systems or a combination of these.

The inventions were judged according to their quality, practicability, originality and marketing potential by a panel of local businessmen chaired by Dr Ray Peacock, himself the inventor of "Teletext". National Power (now Innogy) at Littlebrook sponsored the prizes which were won by the following students :

Key stage 2

Ruth Fenge and Anjuli Batra of Brent Primary School for their "Bugs Bunny".

Nicole Summers of Brent Primary School for her "Bits and Bobs holder".

Key Stage 3

Inderjit Johal, Tom Fake, and Joe Stoker of Dartford Grammar School for their "Safe Stir".

Key Stage 4

Ross Allen of Dartford Grammar School for his "Bike Rack".

Andrew Valentine of Dartford Grammar School for his "Minidisk Store".

Special Award

Anna Barratt of Wilmington Girls Grammar School for her chair.

All the prizewinning entries were displayed in Dartford Museum for the duration of the Millennium Gateway Festival's "Inventive Minds" exhibition during the Autumn 2000.

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