Five teenagers from Fortrose made it their business to succeed when they gave a winning presentation to judges in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Youth Challenge last Friday (June 30).

Calling themselves Team CommPliance, the former Fortrose Academy pupils took their idea - a method of controlling household appliances to remotely switch on and off - right through the selection stages to overall victory, each winning a laptop computer and clinching a trip to BT's  world-renowned research and development centre at Adastral Park in Suffolk.

Caitlyn Hughes, BT's partnership director, said: "BT has been involved in the youth challenge since its inception and it's fair to say that this year's was one of the best. The winning team from Fortrose Academy will have a great day out at our research labs where our futurologists and innovation gurus can introduce them to the technologies of tomorrow."

Four lads from Plockton High School who devised a system to allow emergency teams to get a local signal from a victim's mobile phone, won a trip to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, thanks to sponsors Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

From Campbeltown Grammar School the three-strong E-group will be travelling to Microsoft's development headquarters in Seattle thanks to their focus on the potential to order from dinner menus on-line.

Six teams of secondary school pupils spent last week at a residential camp working in the cutting edge world of product development. "This year the standard of the six projects was exceptional, and all worthy of commercial potential" according to the ICT Youth Challenge Content Director Bryan Fraser.

At the awards John Edwards from Microsoft, another of the main sponsors, told the youngsters, "It has been a pleasure to see your enthusiasm and commitment. I congratulate you all."

Jacquie Ross, head of business studies at Fortrose Academy paid tribute to the annual competition, now in its fourth year, "Team members gain so much from their week here. It helps their social development to be talking with high-powered business people and to be working so closely as a team. The experience they gain in research and development, presentation skills and increased confidence, is invaluable.
 
"The Team CommPliance group have been consistently pleasant, hardworking pupils throughout the competition. They are inspirational ambassadors for their school."
Principal teacher of technology, Jamie Keen who mentored two teams through to the final from Plockton added: "One of the competition's biggest merits is the confidence it gives youngsters to be speaking to adults in a businesslike manner. It gives them a real sense of how their education applies to the world of commerce in a way that's fun and makes it an attractive option for them."

The ICT Youth Challenge Project Manager Ali Murray told pupils, "We live in an area that is really beginning to take its place in the global economy. This competition provides a unique opportunity - through the generosity of sponsors BT, Microsoft and HIE - to grow confidence in our skillsets and networks and prove that we can take a leading role in product innovation over the years to come."

Brian Weaver from HIE added: "The commitment of teachers plays in important part in this event. Right across the region, and throughout the year, teachers encourage youngsters to look beyond the curriculum and create their own opportunities. Their pupils will reap the rewards from this experience for many years to come."

Winners

Overall winners of the ICT Youth Challenge and of the BT Prize for best use of communications: Team CommPliance, Fortrose, (Hamish Davidson; David Bull; Owen Robinson; Eilidh Pearson and Eilidh MacLeod);

Microsoft Prize for best commercial potential: E-Group, Campbeltown, (Daniel Fee; Paul McAllister and Claire Allan);

HIE prize for best innovation and design: Transcellular, Plockton (Charlie Broughton, David Scott, Douglas Mackenzie and Ben Bartlett).

The three other finalist teams came from Farr High School (2) and Plockton High School.