Two hundred pupils from four Lewisham secondary schools took part in the Crossways Federation's third annual Gifted and Talented Week hosted at Crossways Academy on 25-29 June.
The pupils, aged between thirteen and fifteen, looked at two "hot" topics of the day: "Global Warming" and "Reducing the Carbon Footprint of our new BSF School".
The Crossways Federation comprises four Lewisham secondary schools - Addey and Stanhope, Catford High, Crofton and Deptford Green and the Crossways Academy.
The Federation schools will be rebuilt or refurbished as part of Lewisham Council's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Developers aim to reduce the carbon footprint by 15%. The challenge to the pupils was to show how they could deliver an even greater reduction.
Pupils were divided into four teams which competed to produce a comprehensive plan for a new school that incorporates visionary, exciting and innovative ideas.
They were told that the plans should give balanced arguments and conclusions, demonstrate how they will reduce the carbon footprint and give clear recommendations to developers and school governors.
Each team prepared both a written portfolio and a multi-media presentation. The project was designed to draw on the enthusiasm and creativity of these students in designing a new school.
Councillor Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham led the panel of judges which included representatives from Learning 21, the Stephen Lawrence Trust and Lewisham Education.
After a lengthy debate the panel selected the Blue Team, led by Ian Davis and Linda Antha, as the competition winners.
Councillor Alexander said: "It was very difficult to make a choice from such a high standard work. The pupils really approached this challenge with a high degree knowledge and presented really imaginative solutions.
"It's also great to see these young people really engaging with the important issues around global warming and promoting sustainability in our schools.
"My congratulations to the winning team and to all the pupils and staff for making this a truly successful and inspirational week."
The entire programme was delivered through the Crossways Federation's Virtual Learning Environment and was supported by just seven teachers together with teaching assistants from each school and students from Imperial College.
In the run up to the event and during the course of the week there were in excess of 4000 hits as students worked through the vast amount of focused resources available on line.