Barton Court Students Win Prestigious Civil Engineering Award

Barton Court Students Win Prestigious Civil Engineering Award with Innovative Renewable Energy Proposal

We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding success of Freddie Cooper and Harvey Rain (Year 12 students), who have won the Gold Award in the 2025 ICE CityZen Competition – a national challenge designed to inspire young people to explore careers in civil engineering.

Competing against 1454 students and submitting one of around 100 project pitches, Freddie and Harvey impressed judges with their thoughtful response to a local renewable energy proposal. Their award winning idea challenged the use of farmland for solar farms, offering instead a sustainable and community focused alternative.

In their project, the students addressed concerns often linked to ‘NIMBYism’ (“Not In My Back Yard”) by proposing the installation of solar panels on heavily industrialised sites, such as large rooftops and extensive car parks. Their solution demonstrated how renewable energy generation can be increased while protecting natural landscapes and local character.

The ICE CityZen competition takes place over two stages:

• A digital engineering game, where students balance sustainability, carbon impact, budget and community needs.
• A video project pitch, presenting a real world civil engineering solution to a local issue.

Freddie and Harvey’s entry stood out for its creativity, environmental awareness and practical engineering thinking, earning them the top prize and a £2000 award.

Reflecting on their success, Freddie and Harvey said the competition was “great fun” and had “strengthened and broadened” their interest in engineering, opening their eyes to possible future careers in the sector.

Their teacher Nick Herbert, Lead Teacher of Geography, commented:

“Our students really engaged with the process and have taken a lot from this. Huge credit should go to both Freddie and Harvey for their commitment to the competition and the hard work they put into it.”

We are extremely proud of Freddie and Harvey for this exceptional achievement and for representing the School so positively on a national stage.

Watch their project pitch video: https://vimeo.com/1177483276?fl=pl&fe=sh