Young Jarrow inventor wins award for sign language translator design
A talented nine-year-old pupil from Jarrow has been recognised with an award after creating an innovative sign language translator designed to help break down communication barriers and make everyday interactions more accessible.
Joel Hunt, a Year 4 pupil at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, entered the competition as part of the school’s MADD STEM week.
The competition is run by educational not-for-profit organisation, Primary Engineer, where they were asked to answer the question: ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ Pupils were tasked with interviewing an engineer before being asked to identify a problem in the world around them. Then they drew and annotated a solution with an accompanying letter explaining why an engineer should choose to build it.
Thousands of children entered across the North East and over 70,000 children entered across the UK. His work was exhibited in The Hope Street Xchange, Sunderland, where he was invited with his parents to view the exhibition and he then attended an awards ceremony alongside other pupils from schools across the North East.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “Joel’s achievement is a wonderful example of the creativity, compassion and ingenuity we see in young people across our region every day. Not only has he demonstrated impressive problem-solving skills, but his design also shows a real understanding of how technology can be used to improve people’s lives.
“He should be incredibly proud of his success, and everyone at St Mary’s should be proud of the supportive environment that has helped nurture such talent.”
A fantastic way for children to use their imagination
Joel, who won the competition for his age group for his sign language translator, said: “I was happy that I won the competition and the awards ceremony was fun. We got to see all the winning and highly commended designs. “I am proud of my design and how it could help people with translating sign language.”
Head of school Jennifer Colley said: “Joel has worked extremely hard to design his sign language translator and what a brilliant idea!
“The competition is a fantastic way for children to use their imagination, and Joel has shown a deep sense of empathy and a commitment to making communication more accessible for others. Joel is a true credit to our school community, and we are very proud of what he has achieved.”