Three pupils have been named winners of a national competition organised by YPO to design the classroom of the future.
The winning entry, designed by Emma Bladen of Tapton School in Sheffield, has been awarded £500 of school equipment. Her classroom of the future includes rocket booster chairs, a portal to teleport to different places and a floor that absorbs rubbish. Classmate Katie Palmer also received a runner's up prize, for her self-writing pens and pre-recorded video lessons - earning the school a further £250 of educational supplies.
Dr Wainwright, Science Teacher at Tapton School, said: “This competition really fired up the imagination of our Year 7 science class. I am delighted that our school produced the winning entry. We look forward to receiving new equipment for the school, which is likely to be more traditional than the ideas put forward for the competition!”

A further runner's up prize was awarded to Phoebe Wirick of St Margaret’s Preparatory School in Calne, Wiltshire. Her classroom of the future includes a holographic teacher, a portal to teleport to different places and buttons that float to control the classroom from any location.
Mike Callahan, Head of Computing at St Margaret’s Preparatory School, said: “The competition really enthused the children in our Computer Club. There were many original and thought provoking ideas from the children. I am delighted that our school produced a winning entry.”
Simon Hill, Managing Director of YPO, said: “Our ‘Classroom of the Future’ competition attracted a number of very creative and innovative entries. We were particularly impressed by the ideas in the winning designs. YPO has been supplying products and equipment to schools for 40 years and we look forward to seeing some of the ideas in our 2054 catalogue!”
The competition was launched earlier this year to mark YPO’s 40th anniversary. Since it was established in 1974, the publicly owned organisation has helped schools save money through its bulk buying power for supplies and centralised contact services.