Plymouth’s youngest designers win MAMMOTH awards for Best New Landmark
Twelve winning entries were recognised at the Mission Mammoth STEAMfest Awards evening hosted by Arts University Plymouth to celebrate the best designs for creating a new landmark for Plymouth, inspired by Mildred the Mammoth at The Box.
The Awards follow on from a fun-packed Mission Mammoth STEAMFest week held at The Box in July 2025, organised by Building Plymouth, which attracted four hundred primary aged children, representing twelve primary schools. Designed to inspire and engage children with the world of construction and the built environment, they worked together with over eighty construction professionals including architects, engineers, project managers, civil engineers, landscape designers, sustainability champions and surveyors, to help shape their creative ideas to design a new landmark for Plymouth which tied in with the new Britain’s Ocean City brand – ‘Make Life an Adventure.’
Throughout June in the build-up to Mission Mammoth week, nearly three hundred primary school children visited Smeaton’s Tower, where they met real-life civil engineers and learnt about John Smeaton to bring their new learning into play ahead of designing their landmark. They were also able to see Plymouth’s famous landmarks from Plymouth Hoe including Drake’s Island, Tinside Lido and the National Marine Aquarium to give them more inspiration!
Judged by an industry panel, the evening celebrated the award finalists and the following overall winners who proudly collected their mammoth figures and certificates:
• Thinking like an architect award – won by Anya Wyatt
St Budeaux CE Primary Academy and presented by AECOM and Expedite
• Thinking like a landscape architect award – won by Hughey Cox
College Road Primary School and presented by Arbocure
• Consideration of mammoth’s needs award – won by Leia Pearce
College Road Primary School and presented by Porteus Groundworks
• Thinking sustainably award – won by Lizzie Jones & Lily Pearse
Salisbury Road Primary School and presented by Devon Contractors
• The spatial coordination award – won by Ula Schoeman
College Road Primary School and presented by Morgan Sindall
• The most creative team/design award – won by Henry Merrifield & Freddie Harris Mount Street Primary School and presented by Willmott Dixon
• The realisation of design award – won by Mia Dickinson College Road Primary School and presented by Ward Williams
• The quality of model or drawing award – won by Rio Sutton
Mount Street Primary School and presented by Nevada Construction
• The thinking like a civil engineer award – won by Arthur Jones
Marlborough Road Primary School and presented by BAM Construction and Drew & Co
• The Judges Special Award – won by Ella Higley St Budeaux CE Primary Academy and presented by Babcock International Group and Shekinah Mission. Ella received a special certificate to be recognised as a future change maker by Shekinah. She received this as her landmark design was a hotel to support homeless people until they got back on their feet.
Joining the awards celebration, John Hamblin, Chief Executive of Shekinah Mission said: “I look to the next generation to make a change to stop homelessness, and this evening we celebrate an incredible winning design, recognising a special young lady, Ella, as a future change maker. Well done, Ella.”
• The Overall Winners of Mission Mammoth 2025 – won by Anya Wyatt
St Budeaux CE Primary Academy and Henry Merrifield & Freddie Harris
Mount Street Primary School this award was presented by Gilpin Demolition.
Presenting at the awards, Cllr Sally Cresswell, Cabinet member for Skills, Education and Apprenticeships at Plymouth City Council said: “Congratulations to all our winners and finalists for this year’s Mission Mammoth design challenge, the children have worked really hard and I am so impressed to see their creative designs. Thank you to Arts University Plymouth for hosting our awards celebration and to all our construction industry friends who have sponsored these awards and helped the children develop their brilliant design ideas. Mildred will enjoy saying ‘make life an adventure by bringing her friends to see the new amazing landmarks in Plymouth, well done everyone!”
The judging panel who had the mammoth challenge of shortlisting the winning entries were thanked:
• Matt Neale – Arbocure
• Mel Brown – Arts University Plymouth
• Michael Grafton Nonis – Babcock International Group
• Carla Wilkinson – Devon Contractors
• Andy Veasey – Drew & Co
• Lauren Farley – Morgan Sindall
• Colin Aldworth – Nevada Construction
• Joel Smith – Willmott Dixon
• Kara Ord – The Box
Morven Maclean, Construction Coordinator for Building Plymouth said: “We are working hard together to inspire and raise awareness about the breadth of career opportunities in construction and the built environment. By delivering STEAMFest, over the last four years we have positively influenced over 1600 children about the wide range of jobs and skills needed across design, engineering, surveying, sustainability, and management. The quality of the award entries this year was incredible, and we look forward to welcoming these budding architects, engineers, landscapers, site managers and quantity surveyors into the industry in years to come.”
Pippa Clement, Teacher at Mount Street Primary School which produced one of the winning entries said “We are so proud to take part in mission mammoth every year as it gives the children the opportunity to develop their steam skills, learn about different roles they could have in the future and allows them to build teamwork. Thanks for everything.”
To find out more, watch a video of the Mission Mammoth STEAMfest 2025 week by clicking here