Reviewed 6 July 2010

Cracking Ideas, Get Cracking! Kids put on their thinking caps and get creative

The 11 regional winners of the Cracking Ideas competition have been revealed.

They saw off stiff competition from almost 9,000 youngsters from across the UK who entered the competition. The competition is part of the Intellectual Property Office’s Wallace & Gromit’s World of Cracking Ideas campaign.

The regional winners are:

Northern Ireland
Catherine Cousins - Age Group 8 to 11
Gavin McCafferty - 11 to 16

Scotland
Elixabete Riley - 4 to 7
Grace Graham - 8 to 11
Rory Doherty - 11 to 16

Wales
Aurora Carter - 4 to 7
Ray Vandyck - 8 to 11
Naomi Jones - 12 to 16

England
Ethan Cardus - 4 to 7
Finn Collinson - 8 to 11
Elliot Cooke - 12 to 16

All the entries will now go forward to the national competition for their age group; this will be judged by Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park.

They will discover whether they have won the top entry for their age group in the UK at an award ceremony on 7 July 2010 at LEGOLAND®, Windsor.

The competition required entrants to identify Wallace & Gromit’s next business venture and to highlight the four types of intellectual property created - an invention/gadget, a name/logo to trade mark, the design of the product and a copyrighted advertising campaign.

Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Wilcox said:

"Congratulations to all the winners. It's wonderful to see children being so imaginative. Ideas, at any age, are precious and imaginative thinking should be encouraged.

"These winners have been selected from over 9,000 entrants, and each of them will have learnt invaluable skills which they can apply later on in life.

"This competition is very encouraging for the future, not just for these children, but also this country's success and growth."

The award ceremony will see the three national winners presented with bespoke trophies designed by Aardman, who have worked with the Intellectual Property Office for several years on this project.

The Cracking Ideas competition is now in its third year and this was the most popular yet with almost 9,000 youngsters entering.

Wallace & Gromit’s World of Cracking Ideas campaign aims to encourage young people’s interest in innovation and creativity while educating them about intellectual property.

Editors notes

  • Cracking Ideas External Link is a Government-backed project and uses a combination of lesson plans, activity packs, challenges and dedicated website, to encourage innovation and creativity amongst children aged 4 - 16 all with links to the UK curriculum.
  • The IPO is within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and responsible for the national framework of intellectual property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
  • Its role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge based economy.
  • It operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to IP to which the United Kingdom is a party.
  • Aardman, which is based in Bristol, was co-founded and run by Peter Lord and David Sproxton. It is a world leader in animation and it produces feature films, television series and television commercials for the domestic and international market.
  • Please contact IPO press officer Paul Conroy on 0207 215 5303 with any queries.

Date of release: 6 July 2010

Internet links