A TEAM of pupils from a North Yorkshire school have fought off national competition to win a design award.

The year ten students from Harrogate Grammar School scooped the top prize in The Design Museum in London’s Design Ventura award.

The annual national design and enterprise contest challenges youngsters to create an original product following a different theme each year.

This year’s awards focussed on the topic of ‘Change’ and the Harrogate pupils impressed judges with their ‘Aqua Hook’ concept.

The product is a simple device that can be attached to a bag to carry a bottle of water.

Team member Ben Jackson explained the inspiration behind it.

He said: “We began by thinking about how to improve the design of water bottles and drinks cans available in school, which eventually led to the idea of attaching a hook to a school bag.

“Also, we noticed how many people had water bottles leaking in their schools bags over their books and iPads, so we also thought about how to solve that problem.”

The team attended an exhibition and VIP reception at The Design Museum in Kensington where the achievements of all ten shortlisted teams were celebrated.

Judge Sebastian Conran presented the winners’ award to the Harrogate team and said theirs was the most commercial product he had seen since the competition launched in 2010.

The pupils will now go on to work with professional designers where they will oversee and direct all aspects of the production of their winning concept.

The Aqua Hook will then go on sale exclusively in the Design Museum shop.