PA Consulting announces winners of the 14th annual PA…

PA Consulting (PA), the global innovation and transformation consultancy, has announced the winners of the 14th annual PA Raspberry Pi Competition, which showcases the ingenuity and technical talent of young people from across the UK.

More than 150 teams of students aged 8 to 18 took part in this year’s competition, which challenged participants to design and build a working prototype that supports the theme of ‘building a positive human future’.

Following months of ideation, design and development, 16 teams were selected to showcase their projects at the national final and awards ceremony on 6 May 2026. The finalists presented their projects to global leaders from across the private and public sectors, with the Innovation and Inspiration Award winners in each category receiving £1,000 for their schools.

This year’s competition was supported by partners including Rentokil Initial, Anglia Ruskin University, Google Cloud and Digital Skills for Defence, alongside PA Consulting’s team of strategists, innovators, designers, scientists, engineers and technologists who turn ideas into physical and digital reality – from medical devices to manufacturing equipment and consumer products.

The PA Raspberry Pi Competition continues to demonstrate the extraordinary creativity and capability of young people when given the opportunity to solve real-world challenges. This year’s theme of building a positive human future has inspired solutions that are not only technically impressive, but deeply thoughtful in how they improve people’s lives, communities and wider society. From sustainability and safety to inclusion and global health, these teams have shown what the next generation of innovators can achieve. We are incredibly proud to support their journey and grateful to the teachers who help make it possible.”

Jiten Kachhela Global Head of Consulting, PA

Winners by category

The Inspiration Awards, celebrated endeavour, enthusiasm and teamwork:

Years 4-6: Raspberry Penguins, King Edward's Junior School, Bath – reducing lost property in schools
Years 7-9: St Hilda's Coding Club, St Hilda's CE School – developing an accessible and sustainable games console
Years 10-11: MediSend, Richard Hale School – distributing life-saving resources in the developing world
Years 12-13: Electric BlueZ, Bournemouth School for Girls, BSG Robotics Club – improving women’s safety in social environments.

The Innovation Awards, recognised technical excellence, teamwork and presentation:

Years 4-6: Bin There, Re-Pi-Cycled That, St Mary’s Church of England Primary School – designing a smart recycling system
Years 7-9: Stonar KS3, Stonar School – supporting neurodivergent children
Years 10-11: Moloch, Simon Langton Grammar School – identifying plant disease and infestation
Years 12-13: BinSmart, King Edward VI Grammar School – reducing waste-collection inefficiencies.

The Ingenuity Award, (‘People’s Choice’) recognised the team that most impressed guests at the Awards Day:

Bin There, Re-Pi-Cycled That, St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.

Judging panel

This year’s winners were selected by an expert panel of judges from industry, academia and the public sector, including:

Chris Astall, CPTO, RAC
Julia Beresford, Defence Digital NGCN SRO, Ministry of Defence
David Boda, Chief Security and Resilience Officer, Nationwide Building Society
Sabah Carter, Chief Data, Intelligence and Technology Officer, FSCS
Dr Ashim Chakraborty, Senior Lecturer in AI and Computing, Anglia Ruskin University
Emma Challans-Rasool, Founder and Director, Proud2bOps
Brigadier Shaun Chandler, Head of Leadership Education and Development Group, British Army
Jo Childs, Breakthrough Readiness Lead – Decision Advantage Portfolio, Defence Intelligence, Ministry of Defence
Norma Dove-Edwin, Group CTO Strategy Director: Digital, Data, AI and Technology, Legal & General
Gina Gill, Chief Information Officer, Apollo Insurance
Simon Goodman, Group CIO, Network Rail
Dave Gordon, Senior Vice President, UK, Europe and Africa, Rolls-Royce
Suzanne Greenhalgh, Head of Government – Google Cloud, Google
Mivy James, Chief Digital Technology Officer, Ministry of Defence
Fiona Johnston, Chief Operations Officer, UCAS
Jackie Kinsey, Chief People Officer, Genomics England
Dario Leslie, Mission Partner Engagement, Dstl
Angela MacDonald, Deputy CEO and Second Permanent Secretary, HMRC
Shannon Miller, President – Strategy, Growth & Digital, Jacobs
Lucy Murray Brown, Head of Operational Service Management, Ministry of Defence
Nnenna Osuji, CEO, NHS North East London
Richard Partridge, Head of Transformation, Fidelity International
Mark Purcell, Group Chief Information Officer, Rentokil Initial
Thomas Read, Group Chief Technology Officer, Serco
John Seglias, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
Rear Admiral Rachel Singleton, Director Digital, Royal Navy
Professor Paul Taylor, Chief Scientific Advisor, National Police Chiefs’ Council
Sarah Venning, Chief Strategy & Information Officer, Allwyn UK
Peter Hogg, Head of Customer Engineering, UK and I, Google Cloud.