Four students from a St Albans school showed off their engineering prowess to politicians, policy makers and businesses in Parliament.

The Year 9 and 11 students from Sandringham School, on The Ridgeway - Sandy Cairns, Polly Gupta, Stanley MacMurray and Emma Wilkinson - were invited to the event on Monday after impressing judges with their engineering project at the regional heats of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition

Their amateur radio communication project saw them set up a radio to speak with Tim Peake while he was aboard the International Space Station.

Rhian Kazwini, Head of Science at Sandringham School, said: “Entering the competition has been great fun and given the team an idea of just how interesting a career in engineering could be.

“The team is delighted to have had the opportunity to visit parliament, particularly off the back of their own achievements with their engineering project. The whole experience has been fantastic and inspiring.”

Commenting on the team’s success, Paul Jackson, chief executive of EngineeringUK, which organises the competition, said: “This year’s entries to The Big Bang Competition highlight how talented the UK’s young scientists and engineers are, and we were delighted to invite the team from Sandringham School along to the Big Bang at Parliament event to help showcase their great work and inspire other young people.”

The Big Bang Competition is an annual contest designed to recognise and reward young people's achievements in all areas of STEM, as well as helping them build skills and confidence in project-based work.

The competition is open to 11-18 year olds, and gives participants the chance to compete for top prizes, such as international experiences worth over £50,000, and prestigious awards such as UK Young Scientist and UK Young Engineer of the Year.