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Following on from its successful launch last year, ��������’s Festival of Big Ideas was back and bigger than ever in 2018.

A showcase of entrepreneurial skills, the festival celebrated the energy and enthusiasm of Year 10 students as they tackled problems and sought innovative solutions for the Central Coast region.

This year’s festival saw students present a melting pot of innovative ideas including an impressive ‘Big Shark’ destination landmark (Big Banana-style!) to encourage tourism and education about shark populations, and the provision of a world-class basketball stadium for the region.

It was the ‘The DIY Library’ - the brainchild of students Robert Bacon, Jackson Pulbrook, Lachie Angus and Riley Moore - that impressed judges the most, taking out this year’s ‘Big Idea’ prize. Their vision was to create a supply system where customers can borrow tools, and gain the skills and expertise from skilled professionals in order to complete a DIY job. Underpinning the novel idea is a mission to combat today’s throwaway society as captured with their slogan: ‘fix not throw’.

A panel of judges, including owner of Treehouse Creative, Jason van Genderen and Youth Development Officer, Haley Vallon assessed each presentation based on creativity, innovation and global citizenship. Kate Tracy, Head of English at �������� who first developed and led the initiative also helped to judge the ideas.

When asked to describe their biggest take-aways from working together on a new idea, students said:

“Teamwork is a collaborative and enjoyable way to solve problems if each member contributes equally. Can be a lot more fun working with others than working by yourself,” Maddie.

“Problems can be solved easier when talking it through collaboratively,” Maddison.

“That listening and teamwork is key,” Alyssa.