Taking part in a school science competition has landed a student an apprenticeship with a major Kent company.

Andrew Dean, a pupil at Dane Court Grammar School in Ramsgate caught the eye of Ashford-based ITL CEO Tom Cole after competing in the KM Bright Spark Awards at Discover Park, Sandwich.

Andrew will start in the manufacturing side of the technology company and then move into systems engineering in the research and development team.

As part of the apprenticeship, Andrew will also be studying a part-time degree at the University of Greenwich in Engineering for Intelligent Systems. The relatively new course concentrates on emerging technologies, such as robotics.

Andrew said: “It was offered to me by one of the judges at the Bright Spark Awards. He sent an email to my school after the awards saying he wanted to interview me for an apprenticeship. I kind of landed on my feet!”

The KM Bright Spark Awards is a dragon’s den-style event staged to help make science cool. Students are encouraged to collaborate in teams using cross-curricular skills in maths, IT, science and engineering to innovate and create. They show off their work to a panel of industry experts with the winning group receiving a cheque for £500.

The KM Bright Spark Awards are open to primary and secondary school teams. Event dragons include representatives from Pfizer, ITL, Benenden Hospital Trust, Prendon Panels, Hectic Lifestlyes, Golding Homes, Discovery Park and BAE Systems.

The 2017 awards are now open for entries. To find out more visit www.kmcharityteam.co.uk.