Pupils from Swale impressed a government minister with their engineering expertise at a ­competition in Sittingbourne.

Teams from Borden Grammar, Fulston Manor, Highsted Grammar, Sittingbourne Community College and The Abbey School in Faversham took part in a challenge to harness wind power.

The year nine students were given four hours to design and build a wind turbine out of card, corrugated paper, balsa wood and electrical components.

Each item was set a value and teams were told to aim for a budget of around £1,500. They were judged on the amount of energy generated, costing, stability and design.

The competition was designed to test the students’ STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and was set up by The Smallpiece Trust and sponsored by Southern Water.

Schools’ Minister Nick Gibb was invited to the event at Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne.

He said: “I have been really impressed with the high quality, scientific work produced by the students.

"I hope today will encourage them to consider taking science and maths to GCSE and A level grades. These subjects are key to their future and the country’s.”

Also in attendance were Mayor of Swale Cllr Ben Stokes and mayoress Cllr Sylvia Bennett and MP Gordon Henderson.

Team two from Sittingbourne Community College took third place in the competition, Abbey’s team two won and the school’s team one came runners-up.

The winners were given a ­trophy while all the students were given certificates.