THE spotlight fell on youngsters from Redbourn Junior School when they joined some of the brightest young inventors in the region to compete for the coveted title of Young Engineer for Britain 2000.

Pupils Lauren Thomas, ten, and Charlotte Baynes, 11, from the Long Cutt school built a time machine for the Thames Valley final.

But although they failed to scoop the top prize, they had the rare opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and ingenuity to a judging panel of professional engineers.

Competitors created a wide range of inventions and engineering projects, some of which were supported by industry because of their commercial potential.

Among the 19 projects on display at the event at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College in High Wycombe, were a solar-heated shower for use when camping and a method of passing objects at different speeds through an x-ray machine.

The event, which was held on Wednesday last week, was organised by the Engineering Council.

It aims to encourage young people to find practical engineering solutions to real-life problems, as well as stimulating their interest in the profession.

Judges looked for originality and enterprise in addition to engineering, design skills and presentation.