The teenage winners of a new schools innovation contest have called for the famous Knife Angel sculpture to go on display in Nottingham.

Five pupils from Bluecoat Beechdale Academy won the first Nottingham Young Innovators Competition, with their plan to write and stage a play about knife crime.

The Year Nine GCSE drama students were inspired to take on the project after one of their friends was stabbed and another was robbed at knife-point.

During their winning presentation, the group highlighted that fact that the dramatic Knife Angel sculpture - made up of 100,000 blades collected by police during knife amnesties - is coming to Derby in October.

"It's going to Derby - why should it not come to Nottingham?" said group member Lorenzo Moore.

"It helps young people make the right decisions about knives - perhaps even rethink their original decisions."

Year 9 pupils from Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, Bilborough, winners of the first Nottingham Young Innovators Competition. PICTURED: Hollea Pike, Holly Loftus, Farhan Basharat, Lorenzo Moore and Cacey Constantine, pictured at Nottingham Council House.

Nottingham's civic authorities have not been keen to see the 27ft Knife Angel on display at this end of the A52. Politicians have previously suggested that the sculpture is not appropriate.

The Bluecoat Beechdale group carried out a survey that they say shows people don't know enough about knife crime.

They all believe the Knife Angel - which was built in Shropshire in 2017 and has been touring British cities ever since - would give people in Nottingham the opportunity to find out more.

Group member Holly Loftus added: "We want young people to understand and consider the consequences of carrying knives."

In the coming months, the group will team up with Nottingham's Pintsize community theatre group to perform their play. They also hope to take it on tour.

The final presentations and judging of the Young Innovators Competition 2019, at Nottingham Council house.

Sixty youngsters, from Bluecoat Beechdale and Nottingham Academy, have spent the last five weeks developing their entrepreneurial skills, as part of the first Young Innovators competition.

The competition was run by the Futures Group - which helps local youngsters find jobs - and backed by Nottingham's Haydn Green Foundation for Entrepreneurship.

Twelve teams of Year Nine pupils were set the task of coming up with innovative, business-based schemes to tackle stress, anxiety and depression.

Four winning teams were chosen during a series of presentations at Nottingham's Council House today (Thursday, June 13).

The other three winning groups drew up plans to tackle racism, negative body images and the lack of formal teaching about career progression.

The Director of the Haydn Green Foundation Professor Hardev Singh said: "Entrepreneurship is a mind-set that must start in schools. It has been gratifying to see so many impressive and enthusiastic young people getting involved."

The creative director of Futures Sandra Cowley, who helped judge the competition, added: "It was a privilege to be in a room full of amazing ideas that were all pitched with such passion."