A North East charity has reached more than 10,000 young people over the past year as it continues to expand its work inspiring the next generation into science, technology, engineering and maths.

The North East STEM Foundation (NESF) announced the milestone at its annual Black Tie Dinner at Dalton Old Pump House in Seaham, its largest fundraising event of the year.

Chair Tania Cooper MBE told guests that 10,488 young people had taken part in the charity’s programmes and activities over the past 12 months.

Among those contributing to the total is its Future Makers programme, which inspires seven to 18-year-olds to explore STEM and has grown from 956 children in 2022 to a record 2,593 this year.

Its Pupil Passport initiative, delivered with RTC North, has also reached 2,113 pupils.

Tania said: “Reaching more than 10,000 young people in a single year demonstrates what can be achieved when education and business work together.

“Behind those numbers are thousands of experiences that can spark an interest, raise aspirations or introduce a young person to a career they may never previously have considered.”

The dinner also saw the winners unveiled in a North East-wide challenge encouraging students to combine engineering, design and creativity by reimagining a Ducati motorcycle as the ultimate ‘villain’s machine’.

The 2026 Build the Villain’s Machine competition was created by NESF in partnership with Ducati UK and challenged students aged 11 to 18 to select a Ducati model and transform it into a high-performance machine fit for a fictional villain.

Students from Sedgefield Community College were named the winners, with teams from Polam Hall School, Darlington, and Whitworth Park Academy, Spennymoor, runners-up.

The winning team will receive an exclusive Ducati and Silverstone Performance Experience, including a behind-the-scenes visit to Ducati UK headquarters at Silverstone, together with a visit to Silverstone Circuit and its museum.

Tania said: “The competition was designed to show young people that engineering is creative, exciting and full of possibilities, and Sedgefield Community College’s winning entry really captured that, combining engineering understanding with imagination and creativity.”

Will Hiftle, General Sales Manager at Vertu Ducati Sunderland, said: “Engineering, design and innovation are at the heart of Ducati, so we’re passionate about encouraging young people to explore these areas and discover where their own interests could take them.

“It has been fantastic to see the creativity and enthusiasm shown by all the students who took part.”

Katie Lennox, the College’s Head of Design Technology, said: “Our students really embraced the challenge and put a huge amount of thought and effort into their ideas. Experiences like this bring the subject to life and show young people the opportunities STEM subjects can open up.”

The dinner was supported by main sponsor Plastic Processing Limited, alongside Meldrum Group, ConocoPhillips, Steel Benders UK Ltd and K2 Construction Management.

NESF also paid tribute to the Platen Family Foundation via the Community Foundation for its continuing support.