TWO Lowestoft students are celebrating this week, after winning a national competition looking at how communities could become sustainable in the future.

TWO Lowestoft students are celebrating this week, after winning a national competition looking at how communities could become sustainable in the future.

The 'Developing Sustainable Communities' competition, organised by Enterprise Lowestoft and worldwide firm of designers and engineers, Arup, challenged secondary school pupils across the country to design an eco-friendly community.

Niall Jones and Katie Pritchard, year 11 students at Denes High School, were adjudged the winners after visiting London and presenting their submission to a panel of influential judges.

The presentation took place in the council chambers at the Royal Institute for British Architecture.

Competing against six other shortlisted schools, Niall and Katie delivered a fantastic 15-minute presentation followed by a question and answer session, which bowled the judges over.

The innovative students have been working on their submission for four months, a digital, fictional new town called Solaris - 'Sustainability with Style, Style with Technology'.

Their creative ideas included an iconic wind turbine restaurant, a central underground shopping centre, ECO zones which held a variety of sustainable and stylish housing and rewarding people that actively lived a sustainable life.

The judges remarked on 'the quality of their presentation and the sophistication of their ideas being that of an established marketing company'.

Following their fantastic winning submission Niall & Katie were asked back to London on Wednesday this week so they could have a guided tour around the Houses of Parliament and show their work to a wider audience in a reception at the Ministry for Local Government.

Both students won an I-pod touch, �1000 sports vouchers for the school and became ambassadors for sustainable communities.

Mick Lincoln, head teacher at Denes High School, said: 'I would like to congratulate Niall and Katie for their thought provoking and forward thinking entry in the competition.

'The quality of their presentation was outstanding and everyone here is delighted that Denes came out on top in a national competition.'