STUDENTS from Okehampton College have proven their technological prowess after success in the nationwide TeenTech Awards.

Twelve student projects from the college were entered into the national engineering and science competition. From more than 1,000 entries across the UK, three groups of Okehampton students were invited to the Royal Academy of Engineering in London thanks to the quality of their work.

Ellie Shayler and Sophie Mugliston had created an education app allowing people to learn the history of a building by simply taking a photograph. Oliver Wolstenholme designed and engineered an 'alarm mattress' that incorporated a vibrating alarm and speakers into an everyday mattress.

Reece Boulton and Sam McGlynn designed and manufactured a guitar that allows you to replace strings from reels hidden in the back if any strings happen to snap. All of the Okehampton ideas on show were placed in the top three nationally.

Throughout the day the teams were quizzed, questioned and judged by industry sponsors, scientists and celebrities, including former Top Gear presenter James May. All teams had worked extremely hard to develop their ideas and their presentations, exhibits and prototypes were described as exemplary.

Reece and Sam won the overall award for the music, media and entertainment category with their idea of Reel Strings for the guitar. The boys won £1,000 for the school, three sets of headphones and they have been invited to an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace later in the year where they will be presented with their awards by the Duke of York.

Mrs Webber, the co-ordinating teacher, said: 'The projects have allowed students to develop ideas which were generated from their science lessons into working models. The students carried out most of the work in their own time independently and all should be congratulated on such a remarkable outcome.'

The TeenTech Awards are for UK students aged eleven to 18 working in teams of up to three to look at problems large and small. The awards were established in 2012/13 to enable students to take their new found interests further. It encourages students to develop their own ideas for making life better, simpler, safer or more fun. Participating schools are provided with a suggested structure and industry contacts.