Two young engineers from Headington Middle School, Oxford, have created an award-winning design for a space station.

Liam Taylor-West, 11, and David Farrar,ten, who are pupils at the school in Margaret Road, beat thousands of entrants across Britain in the Young Engineer for Britain competition, to win the runners up prize.

Liam and David spent their summer holidays modifying and perfecting plans for a space station design challenge.

The two won the regional finals of the competition earlier in the year.

The boys designed a diamond-shaped station, which included a science laboratory and a capsule lift, storage areas, accommodation units, satellites and a gravity gym for experiments.

They had to create their design using K'nex toy construction kits.

Their design also included environmentally-friendly features such as solar panels to generate power, waste water recycling units and a laser defence system to destroy large meteorites that may be found heading for Earth.

An escape pod for emergencies also impressed the judges, as did a Robo-bird, which was designed to carry out repairs outside the station.

The pair lost out on the top prize, which went to competitors from Little Thetford Primary School, Cambridgeshire.

Nevertheless, they came home to Oxford with a cheque for £350 to buy science and technology equipment for their school.

The boys were also awarded an automated Cyber K'nex construction kit each by BBC TV's Newsround presenter Matthew Price, during a prize-giving ceremony in London.

Their class teacher, Julia Scott, who helped co-ordinate the school's entry into the competition, said: "We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

"We look forward to helping the school's science co-ordinator, Rita Blewitt, choose some valuable equipment for the school."