Time to step up!
Net Zero Superheroes
Net Zero Superheroes is a competition aimed at primary school children aged 9-10 years old (Year 5 in England / Wales or Primary 6 in Scotland / Northern Ireland).
Watch this video to find out more!
Each team or individual are tasked to design a creative invention to help their school or local community achieve Net Zero. This could relate to energy, transportation or infrastructure.
AtkinsRéalis has developed a variety of teaching resources on topics such as Climate Change, Carbon Footprint, Net Zero, Energy Demand and Supply.
These can be provided to schools or delivered by an AtkinsRéalis mentor to enhance learning, the sessions are made interactive involving both hands-on activities and individual worksheets.
If you would like to take part in next year’s competition, please sign up using our registration form or scan this QR code.
If you would like more information about the competition, please read our Information Pack.
Net Zero STEM Activities
If you’ve been unable to take part in this year’s competition but would like to learn more about the other Engineering Net Zero STEM activities AtkinsRéalis has to offer or would like to be contacted about future competitions, please also get in touch with us at: ENZSchools@atkinsrealis.com.
PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT PREVIOUS YEARS AND RESULTS.
Read about our 2023/24 Net Zero Superheroes Competition
During our 2023/24 competition, AtkinsRéalis successfully worked with 66 different schools across the UK, received over 331 submissions, and reached over 2600 pupils in total!
2023/24 Judging Panel
15 shortlisted teams/individuals presented their ‘Net Zero’ ideas and inventions via MS Teams to our judging panel of industry leaders Alison Walker (Deloitte), Russ Barnes (RAF / MOD), Hannah Swales (UKAEA), Jess Bates (AtkinsRéalis UK/I STEM Lead), Jamila Bhaiji (AtkinsRéalis ADS&T Net Zero Lead). The calibre of entries was incredibly high, and the judges were blown away by the creativity and presentation. Out of the shortlisted schools, the judges selected the following winners:
Winner: “Dyslexic Glasses” – Texas, Alex, Ayla, Livara, Whiteshill Primary School, South West England
2023/24 winning idea – Dyslexic Glasses
Idea: The winning team came up with the idea of creating an alternative to plastic overlays used to support pupils with Dyslexia which must go to landfill after 6 months of use. Dyslexic Glasses would use recycled plastic to create the reusable glasses and reduce waste.
Second Place: “The Eco Garden” – Emily and Kate, Robert Gordons College, Scotland
2023/24 second place idea – The Eco Garden
Idea: The second place team created an Eco Garden for their school with a renewable energy machine that looks like a tree, the ‘leaves’ will be miniature wind turbines and the branches will hold solar panels. They will also grow their own fruit and vegetables for the canteen to offset the transport emissions.
Third Place: “Mega Eco Transformation” – Shamika and Avani, Holy Trinity Primary School, South West England
2023/24 third place idea – Mega Eco Transformation
Idea: This team proposed four ideas to make their school more sustainable including: An electric school bus to reduce the emissions caused from travelling to school, sensor LED lights to reduce the energy demand and avoid wasted electricity, an eco-food dispenser and a school biogas plant.
Spot Prizes
To encourage schools to enter the competition, each year we randomly select one school from each region in the UK to win a spot prize. The following schools were awarded £150 which can be used to purchase Net Zero / sustainability / STEM related resources for their school.
*Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any submissions from any schools in Wales this year – hopefully we can get more schools involved from Wales next year!
Read about our 2022/23 Net Zero Superheroes Competition
During our 2023/23 competition, AtkinsRéalis successfully worked with 62 different schools across the UK, received over 375 submissions, and reached nearly 3,000 pupils in total!
2022/23 Judging Panel
15 shortlisted teams presented their ‘Net Zero’ ideas to our judging panel of industry leaders Sallyanne Barson (Stakeholder Engagement & Communications Manager, National Grid Ventures), Cara-Marie O’Keeffe (Climate Change Consultant, AtkinsRéalis), Shak Choudhury (Project and Programme Lead, The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, UK Government), and Pamela Paul (Head of Social Value, AtkinsRéalis). The calibre of entries was incredibly high, and the judges were blown away by the creativity and presentation. Out of the shortlisted schools, the judges selected the following winners:
Winner: “Green Building”
Anna, Bella and Chloe, Great Alne Primary School, Warwickshire, Southwest England
2022/23 Winning Idea – Green Building
Idea: The winning team came up with the idea of growing plants on the roof and creating a green wall to offset the amount of carbon emissions produced by the school. They also created a sustainable system to maintain the plants by storing rainwater and creating compost from lunch food waste.
Prize: The members of the winning team won a ‘Hyrbrid Crabot’ solar powered robotic crab, they also won a class trip to the ThinkTank Science Museum in Birmingham.
Anna, Bella and Chloe with their ‘Hybrid Crabot’ prize
Second Place: “Bio Energy”
Abhinav and Lakshya, Lorne Street Primary, Glasgow, Scotland.
2022/23 Second Place Idea – Bio Energy
Idea: Abhinav and Lakshya designed a machine that collected food waste from the canteen which produces methane gas as it decomposes. The methane was then converted into heat and electricity to heat and power the school with renewable energy.
Prize: Class trip to the National Museum of Rural Life and Whitelee Wind Farm.
Lorne Street P6 Class at Whitelee Wind Farm
Third Place: “The Eco Ball”
Holy Trinity Primary School, Bristol, England.
2022/23 Third Place Idea – The Eco Ball
Idea: The Eco Ball uses revolutionary technology to generate power using a dynamo which uses a magnet to create electricity. When the ball is kicked in the playground, it will charge a battery that can be used for lots of school devices such as walkie talkies.
Prize: Class trip to Techniquest Science Discovery Centre in Cardiff.
Holy Trinity Primary School Y5 Class Trip to Techniquest Science Discovery Centre
A school from each region was also randomly selected to receive a cash prize to put towards Net Zero teaching resources.
School Trip to Whitelee Wind Farm
Jacob, Louis and William with School Library Books (left), Jacob with Individual Prizes (right)
Victoria, Sean, Maiya & Lois with certificates