Chelmsford County High School shines at V&A Innovate

Published 4th February 2026

Chelmsford County High School for Girls proudly recalls the outstanding achievement of their Year 9 team, Green Gift, who were named Best Pitch winners in the V&A Innovate National Schools Challenge 2024 - 2025. Their sustainable gift-wrapping solution highlighted the creativity, problem-solving, and environmental awareness of young designers tackling real-world challenges.

Adapting, renewing and restoring through design

The 2024 - 2025 V&A Innovate Challenge invited students to explore the theme ‘Adapt, Renew, Restore’, encouraging young designers to focus on sustainability and social impact. Green Gift, a team of four Year 9 students, developed a reusable, customisable gift-wrapping kit that reduces waste while promoting thoughtful gifting. Their innovative solution impressed judges for combining practical design with environmental responsibility.

From classroom to the V&A

The team’s journey began in an extracurricular design class, where they investigated consumer habits, sustainable materials, and waste reduction. Through research, prototyping, and iterative testing, the students refined their concept into a product that seamlessly merged aesthetic appeal with sustainability.

Selected as national finalists, Green Gift pitched their project at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Competing against teams from across the country, they presented their solution confidently, showcasing strong design thinking and teamwork. Their efforts culminated in winning the Best Pitch award, a proud moment for both the students and the school.

Innovate 2025–26: now open

Building on this success, the V&A Innovate National Schools Challenge 2025 - 2026 is now open. Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 are invited to form teams of four to six and respond to one of three new challenge themes: ‘Rest, Join, and Reimagine’. The competition offers free teacher resources including session plans, worksheets, and videos to guide teams through the human-centred design process, culminating in a pitch day at the V&A Museum.

All participants receive certificates, while finalists compete for trophies, plaques, and opportunities to work with professional designers. This is a unique chance to inspire students, develop creative problem-solving skills, and bring design thinking to life in the classroom. Teachers can find out more and register their students for Innovate 2025 - 2026 here.

Teachers can download the PDF version of this article, featured in Practice 2 2025 below, and get their digital copy of the magazine here.