Ikea builds up pupils' design work

The Midlothian Schools Design Competition, an annual event toasting the achievements of S4–S6 pupils from secondary schools in Midlothian, was hosted by sponsors IKEA last month.

This is the 15th year running that the furniture retailer has sponsored the event which celebrates the brightest young talents in the fields of design and manufacture, and graphic design in Midlothian.

Innes Ritchie, IKEA Edinburgh store manager said: “At IKEA we are passionate about well-designed home furnishings that are attractive, functional, sustainable and affordable and we want to encourage future generations to be just as enthusiastic about design as we are.

“We have sponsored the Midlothian Schools Design Competition for the past 15 years to celebrate the local community’s blossoming talent and are delighted to provide the opportunity to elevate the profile of the winners to those in the region through this exhibition.”

The awards received entries from six Midlothian schools across the competition’s five categories; National 5 Design and Manufacture, National 5 Graphic Communication, Higher Design and Manufacture, Higher Graphic Communication and Best Practical Work. A final 75 entries were shortlisted for the coveted awards.

The winners were: N5 Design and Manufacture - 1, Carolyn Reid (Penicuik High School); 2, Zainab Hussain (Lasswade High School); 3, Lucas Archibald (Penicuik High School).

N5 Graphic Communication- 1, Jodi Millar (Lasswade High School); 2, Erin Birrell (Newbattle High School); 3, Lyndsay Ross (Dalkeith High School).

Practical -1, Cameron McNeil (Penicuik High School); 2, Rory Hutchison (Dalkeith High School); 3, Erin Birrell (Newbattle High School).

Higher Design and Manufacture - 1, Douglas Jones (Lasswade High School); 2, Ben Keay (St David’s High School); 3, Fraser Jamieson (Penicuik High School).

Higher Graphic Communication - 1, Erin Clarkson (Newbattle High School); 2, Rachel Ramsay (Newbattle High School); 3, Thomas Rietvelt (Lasswade High School).

The winning pieces will now be on display in the restaurant of the IKEA store at Straiton for the remainder of May, giving the winners an opportunity to show their work to members of the public.