A national competition proved to be child’s play for one Highsted Grammar School pupil.

Isabel Packman’s Olly The Spinning, Splashing Octopus was chosen as the overall winner of Playsafe.

Entries were split into three categories – for primary, secondary and special schools – with judges looking for toys designed to be fun and safe.

As well as drawing their designs, entrants had to provide notes explaining how the toy is used, its safety features, its development benefits, whether the toy is for indoor or outdoor use, and whether it is suitable for children with special needs.

Hundreds of ideas were put forward, but it was the 14-year-old’s toy, designed to be used in paddling pools, that stood out.

Her prize was a £100 voucher for herself plus a £100 voucher and a £1,000 cheque for her school, which were presented to her during an assembly.

The competition was run by Kent County Council’s trading standards in association with the British Toy and Hobby Association.

KCC’s head of regulatory services, Mike Overbeke, said: “Every year, thousands of children are injured as a result of accidents with toys, and trading standards are responsible for removing these from sale and prosecuting where necessary.

“We work with businesses, assisting them with making or importing safe toys. However, toys also need to be fun to play with, which requires innovative, clever designs.

“The Playsafe competition really promotes this, encouraging young people to be both imaginative and safety-conscious in their creations.

“This year in Kent we have seen some fantastic ideas from our budding designers, with Isabel’s design incorporating many safety features and safeguards.”

Highsted’s head of design and technology, Graham Peter, said: “Isabel put a lot of work into her toy design. The school is very proud of her and the work submitted by all our Year 9 students.

“The consumer and design issues raised by this competition provide an excellent preparation for our GCSE product design course.”

Roland Earl, director general of the British Toy and Hobby Association, said: “All in all, Isabel was a very worthy winner.”