Championed by Reggie Yates, the Lego Build the Change competition asked children to create a film adressing an issue in their community.

The Lego Group has announced the winning participant in its latest Build the Change challenge, with St. Hild’s Primary School in Durham winning 10,000 Lego bricks.

This latest competition, launched at the end of last year with the help of renowned filmmaker Reggie Yates – who was also on the judging panel – asked schoolchildren aged 7-11 to create their own short film addressing an issue in their community that they cared about, and their creative solutions for that issue. Build the Change is a programme that provides learning through play-based resources that connect children to sustainability, and provide them with a platform to express their hopes and dreams for the future.

Entries were judged on how meaningful, creative and effective they were, with the winning entry, ‘Bringing More Nature to the Community’, telling the story of a Teddy Bear who, feeling sad about having a lack of outdoor space to explore, goes to a forest school where the joys of nature lead to feelings of calmness, peacefulness and happiness.

Other issues explored the recycling and reusing of waste products, a community coming together to clean their beach, and another allowing children who live in poverty access to free sports lessons.

In total, more than 1,500 schools registered for the learning resources, with the Build the Change challenge reaching more than 20,000 school children across the United Kingdom.

Two runner-up schools – Arinagour Primary School on the Isle of Coll, and Castle Court School in Wimbourne, Dorset –  each received 3,000 Lego bricks.

The Build the Change programme featured two learning sessions that teachers could lead their pupils through, which included case studies and videos to provide inspiration for pupils wanting to take part.

Reggie Yates said: “It’s been brilliant to take part in the Lego Group’s Build the Change campaign, and I’m so impressed with all the films that were submitted. It’s been a great way to get children engaged with what is happening in the world around them, and have them come up with a creative solution to issues that matter to them. The standard of filmmaking on show was really high, with so much thought going into the videos that the schoolchildren made.”

David Pallash, Global Social Impact Programs and Partnerships, the Lego Group, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the response we’ve had to this year’s competition. Our mission at the Lego Group is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow and that’s exactly what the Build the Change programme is all about.”

You can find out more about Build the Change here.