Ever wondered where the next idea to save the world will come from?

A new study among 7-14 year-old children and teachers, commissioned by British Gas Generation Green, to understand more about children’s views on the world’s biggest future challenges, has found that UK kids want to play an active role in tackling them.

Whilst almost half believe the Prime Minster is the most likely person to solve our biggest future challenges, they also feel strong personal responsibility for finding the answers – believing that they and their friends will be the people most likely to solve major challenges.

Children are fantastic at coming up with ideas, and I hope they are as enthusiastic as I am about publishing The Powerful Story and seeing it transformed into a life-size exhibition

Nearly half of kids think our biggest challenge in the future will be making sure we don’t run out of energy - almost twice the proportion of teachers that were concerned about it when they were growing up.

In response to children’s strong desire to play a role in solving future challenges, British Gas Generation Green is today launching a nationwide competition to give kids their say about what the world of energy will look like in the future.

During the second half of the Spring term, all Year 5 children in England, Scotland and Wales will be given a once in a lifetime opportunity to co-create The Powerful Story – a story of the past, present and future of energy. 

Popular children’s author and TV actor Ciaran Murtagh and illustrator Lee Cosgrove have started the first chapter and are handing over the remaining 12 chapters to schools across the country. They will be asked to invent the adventures of 11-year-old twins Billy and Zoe Spark and their great, great, great grandfather Jeremiah through the world of energy, to a future fictional world set 50 years from now.

Children’s author Ciaran Murtagh said: “I’m excited to be helping British Gas Generation Green encourage children to explore the world of energy today and imagine what it could be like in the future.

“Children are fantastic at coming up with ideas, and I hope they are as enthusiastic as I am about publishing The Powerful Story and seeing it transformed into a life-size exhibition. I’d encourage as many schools to get involved as possible - I can’t wait to read all the entries and meet some of the schools who send in their chapters! 

“Good luck to everyone taking part. If you log on to generationgreeen.co.uk, you can find a short video with my top tips to give you the best chance of success in creating a winning chapter. ”

Once complete, The Powerful Story will be turned into an interactive exhibition at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum, in Halifax, West Yorkshire. The exhibition will run from 25 May- 2 June, and will be free to visit. 

The written contributions and illustrations of up to four winning schools in each region will feature in the finished Powerful Story book and exhibition at Eureka! In addition, one champion school from each region will receive a special visit from author Ciaran Murtagh.

Susie Plume, Brand Director for British Gas and responsible for the Generation Green programme, said: “It’s inspiring to see how passionate children are about playing a role in solving the energy challenges of the future.  

“The Powerful Story will be an exciting experiment in collaboration with children, teachers, and a talented author and illustrator team. The competition will enable us to harness children’s ideas and creativity, and transform them into a great new story and a fantastic exhibition. 

“We’re proud to be helping create the next generation of energy innovators, whom we hope will be well equipped to turn their ideas and enthusiasm into valuable skills and innovations in the future.”

British Gas Generation Green gives all schools in the UK free access to teaching resources, educational experiences and energy-saving technologies. So far, more than 13,000 schools have signed up.  For more information about The Powerful Story competition or to enter, visit www.generationgreen.co.uk/powerfulstory. 

FemaleFirst @FemaleFirst_UK

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