AN all-girl team of three Year 8 students from Brentside High School in Hanwell were London winners in Shell’s national schools’ science competition, The Bright Ideas Challenge.

By 2050, with around nine billion people on the planet, it is predicted that demand for energy will double, creating a need to produce more and cleaner energy. 

The Bright Ideas Challenge seeks to inspire young people about the role they can play in shaping a brighter future. 

It asks young people aged 11-14 to address the complex energy challenges of the future and imagine innovative solutions for making our future cities clean, efficient, vibrant places n which to live, work and play. 

Team Xchange for Better, from Brentside High, came up with the ingenious idea of replicating the process of photosynthesis that occurs in plants.

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Huge plant-like structures would be built next to any site where large volumes of carbon dioxide were being produced, from motorways to factories. 

These structures would diffuse carbon dioxide and create oxygen that would be released to improve air quality.

The winning team’s bright idea won them £1,500, plus a VIP trip to Make the Future Live, Shell’s four-day festival of innovation at the Olympic Park from July 5-8.

The national champion will be announced at Make the Future Live on July 6.