Anti-vaping board game wins this year’s County Schools Challenge

An innovative and educational anti-vaping board game was the winner of this year’s County Schools Challenge.

Students from eight secondary schools across Northamptonshire gathered on Monday evening (June 30) to present their social enterprise ideas on this year’s theme of vaping to a panel of judges at the Castle Theatre in Wellingborough.

Earlier this year, secondary schools across the county were tasked with creating innovative products or services that could help make vaping less appealing to young people and non-smokers.

The schools in the Grand Final were:

• Corby Business Academy
• Corby Technical School
• Daventry Hill School
• Elizabeth Woodville School (Deanshanger)
• Guilsborough Academy
• Kingsthorpe College
• Lodge Park Academy, Corby

During the Grand Final, the finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges made up of Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jim Powell, Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Marianne Kimani, Olivia Ives, Assistant Director of the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, and Helene Denness, Deputy Director of Public Health for North Northamptonshire Council.

This year’s winners were Guilsborough Academy, whose winning entry was a board game aimed at 10-14 year olds. The game includes ‘Inhale the Truth’ cards to educate the players on what they are inhaling using true/false questions, hidden hazard cards highlighting the unknown dangers of vaping, and cards to help players quit vaping. The winning team walked away with the top trophy, certificates, and prize money – which they are planning on using to put the game into production.

The winning team’s Assistant Principal, Kit Woolridge, said: “We are incredibly proud of our students for winning the 2025 County Schools Challenge.

“Their creativity, teamwork and determination to make a positive impact on society have been truly inspiring. This is a fantastic recognition of their hard work and we are excited to see how their ideas will continue to grow and benefit our community.”

Other prizes handed out on the night included the Johnson Award for partnership working and the Franklin Award for motivation and fun. These went to Northampton International Academy and Corby Technical School, respectively.

The first Northamptonshire County Schools Challenge was launched in 2009. That year, the competition was won by a team from Weavers School in Wellingborough, who designed an educational DVD and bin sticker to help combat wheelie bin arson in the area. To date there has been a 60 per cent reduction in wheelie bin fires and the products have been used internationally, with the film shown in Europe, Australia and the US.