Kids see off NASA to win web prize

A Leicestershire primary school's website has won a major Internet award - and has beaten off opposition from American space agency NASA and the British Geological Society to do so.

Woodland Grange in Oadby, near Leicester, won the educational category in the Yahoo Search Finds of the Year 2005 with pupils being told of their success at morning assembly. The pupils knew they had been shortlisted alongside prestigious sites such as NASA's Mars Rover site and were already busy dealing with their new-found fame when the media descended on the school to film, interview and write about their site. Even so, Deputy head teacher Richard Smyton said: 'I don't think that at any point we expected to win.'

But winning the education category means they now go forward with seven other category winners to contest the grand final. The winner will be decided by a public vote with the results announced in February to see who joins the ranks of past overall winners like comedian Eddie Izzard.

Among their fellow competitors in the final are Derren Brown who won the best TV award, travel winners Transport For London and The Cloud Appreciation Society which won the section titled 'Weird and Wonderful'

The children issued a press release outlining their site's many features such as the ability to blog from either school or home, a 'playground' section with games, news, photos and teachers sections and even their own radio broadcasts.

It'll be tough for them to win outright but, having already beaten the space agency, they may just boldly go beyond the final frontier.

Great news for the kids in Oadby but do YOU have any good news about YOUR child's school? Or even your child? Don't keep it to yourself. Share with other RK members here.

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