THREE UTC Swindon Sixth Form students are celebrating after coming second in a national competition.

Oli Kirby, Ethan Dowden and Selwyn Gonsalves reached the finals of the Fujitsu Operation Innovation challenge after competing against more than 60 other colleges and schools from around the country.

They had developed a programme that aims to help doctors and pharmacies move faster and more accurately to dispense medicines which could save taxpayers and the NHS time and money.

The trio then had to present their idea to Fujitsu experts, Dragon’s Den-style, and came second overall.

College prinicpal Jon Oliver said: “This is an exceptional performance, and we are delighted in the quality of Ollie, Ethan and Selwyn’s planning and presentation of their ideas.

“Working closely with global organisations such as Fujitsu is inspiring for our students and fantastic preparation for securing high-quality employment at a time of extreme difficulty for young people.

"Huge congratulations to our students for this fantastic achievement and to LDE UTC for winning first place."

The organisation was on the search for students to develop the next big thing in order to solve a current challenge in society.

The competition is seen as a unique opportunity for teams to work together and spark inspiration.

Now in its third year, Fujitsu’s ‘Operation Innovation’ competition seeks to help close the gap between education and employment when it comes to digital skills.

After all the finalists had presented their idea, a Fujitsu spokesman said: “To get to this stage, it meant that you have each created a completely unique innovation and have risen to the challenge to deliver a professional pitch to high-level tech industry experts.

“This is a huge achievement, and not one that many of your peers will have yet experienced.

"Please give yourselves a massive pat on the back and recognise that you have accomplished something truly impressive.

“In some cases, the scoring differentiated by only a very small percentage, which is a testament to the high-quality entries this year and the tough decisions the judges faced. You have all done yourselves incredibly proud as finalists.”