Designs on success for trophy winners

Two South Staffordshire students won trophies for their work.

Stephanie Brown, aged 17, and Leyla Osman, 16, were rewarded for their exceptional work while teacher Carol East was presented with £250 for the school.

The girls, who attend Wolgarston High School, Penkridge, were part of a group challenged to design a room as part of their GCSE Design & Technology coursework. They were presented with trophies as part of Central Borders Housing Group's Design Challenge.

Staff from CBHG, which sponsored the project, took the 18 students to the association's showpiece development of 29 executive apartments in Cannock and invited them to choose a room to design. They were asked to choose a room in any apartment in the scheme and develop an interior design, taking into account necessary furniture placement.

From the initial concept, they then researched fabrics and finishes, designing specific elements of the room, from bedspreads to blinds to wall decorations.

Speaking for the Housing Group, chief executive Debbie Griffiths said: "The quality of the work is really inspiring and we are very pleased to have been able to encourage such a talented group of people."

As part of the project, and counting towards their overall GCSE grade, each student has produced a folder showing the design process, samples and drawings. CBHG and it's founding housing association, South Staffordshire Housing Association, will examine the folders and choose one idea which they, in collaboration with the budding designer, will develop for use in a show home when the properties go on sale later this year.

The development is for sale under shared-ownership arrangements, aimed at first time buyers and those on lower incomes.

Buyers can invest in a share of the property, ranging from 25-75 per cent, and pay rent on the remainder. When their circumstances change, buyers can increase the bought element of their home until they own it outright.