West Cumbrian students have won thousands of pounds at a recent engineering awards ceremony.

Stephen Gascoigne, of the Energy Coast UTC, scooped the REACT Foundation £3,000 bursary award and Luke Scott, of Workington Academy, picked up IMechE West Cumbria’s £1,000 mechanical engineering bursary.

They were promised the top prizes after applying for an engineering-related degree at university which they are due to start in September.

Year 11 teenagers were also hand-picked from entries across the region’s secondary schools after pledging to study an engineering, maths, technology or science-related subject at sixth form in September.

The engineering awards have been designed to help students kick-start their careers by offsetting some of the costs of going to university and sixth form.

Year 11 winners were: Ruben Sailer, Cockermouth School; Rebecca Tourney and Bradley Smith, Energy Coast UTC; Oliver Dustin and James Mattinson, Keswick School.

Samuel Ketchen, Millom School; Luke Todd, Netherhall School; Craig McNicol, St Joseph’s Catholic High School; Samuel Agnew, St Benedicts Catholic High School.

George Fava, Nelson Thomlinson School; Ben Walkingshaw, Whitehaven Academy; Luke McDougall and Jaye Moore, Workington Academy.