Kettering pupils launch their own book

'The Bumblebee Drone', by pupils at Kettering Buccleuch Academy (KBA), was the winning entry for a national enterprise competition last year with the book launched earlier this month.

UnitedIDEAS, run by school trust United Learning across its primary schools, challenged pupils to come up with a world-changing idea that addresses a local or global issue they want to solve. In winning the competition, the team of pupils from KBA had to create a poster, model, presentation and promotional video for their idea.

As a prize for winning, the team were given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture their idea in a book, supported by the central team at United Learning. At a special school assembly, pupils Joseph, Keeley and Mahe got the chance to showcase their creation and celebrate the official launch of the ‘The Bumblebee Drone’ which is now available to buy on Amazon.

The personalised book follows the children themselves as they use an app to identify areas of high pollution and then send in a specialised drone to purify and clean the air. The pupils were inspired by their lessons on air pollution, where they learnt about the impact that harmful toxins have upon young people and their health. They wanted to find a way to make the environment safer and cleaner so that children could safely play outside in the fresh air.

Head of primary at Kettering Buccleuch Academy, Angela O’Neill, said: “Our pupils have worked incredibly hard over the past year to develop their book alongside the team at United Learning, following a very successful win at UnitedIDEAS.

"What has been particularly impressive throughout the process has been the way pupils have engaged with the issue of air pollution, and used their learning and creativity to propose an environmental solution.

“As part of giving them what we call an education with character we encourage our pupils to think about the world around them and be thoughtful and conscientious citizens. Now, with the launch of their book, the pupils have a lasting record of this work that they can each be proud of.”