Student Voices from Cedars Upper School - A Showcase Success Story

Earlier this year, a group of Year 9 students from Cedars Upper School took part in our Innovate for Climate Change course. The team developed a creative, impactful app idea that helps users find and donate pre-loved school uniforms, and were selected as Judge’s Favourite in the Ethical Innovators category in our 2025 Showcase (supported by our partner, EPAM). We visited them to hear, in their own words, what the journey was like — from preparing their submission, to that unforgettable winning moment, and their school’s plans already underway to turn their idea into a fully functioning application on the website!

Hi, we’re team Cedars Uniform Marketplace! Our main roles in our Apps for Good project were:

Ellie - Media Creator

Lennie - Lead Presenter

Issy - Presentation and Poster Creator

Samuel - Team Leader and Chief Coder

Caleb - Assistant Presenter and Interviewee

Freya - Assistant Coder

Ellie: It felt amazing getting ready to submit into Showcase, especially because we had already come so far with the app, it was amazing to be able to continue and take it further.

Issy: We found out we’d been shortlisted for Showcase one lunchtime. I was really happy! It started as a really small idea, so then to see it get this far was just amazing. I didn’t want to get my hopes up just in case, so being shortlisted was just brilliant.

Caleb: On the day of the judging call we had prepared a speech, which me and Lennie had been practicing loads before. We had it mostly memorised. I felt better for doing the preparation because I then felt more confident going ‘on stage’.

I was nervous doing the pitch, but everything was fine. It went how I imagined it would go, and when the call ended, I felt excited.

Freya: We were all feeling very nervous, because it’s quite an event to try and win. But it was a really good experience which meant a lot. The judges thought it was an amazing idea because it can actually help people and make an impact. We kept getting comments that our idea was really practical. It was very cool.

I was watching Lennie and Caleb do the pitch and I thought to myself - they absolutely smashed it. It felt amazing to see all these people looking at our idea and saying it's actually really good. It can make a real difference to the environment, because it solves an actual problem. They really enjoyed learning about it, which made me feel good, because everyone had been working on it for quite a while. It felt great that I’d helped to develop it.

Freya: Jaw-dropping and inspiring (I can’t choose just one word!)

Issy: Proud

Ellie: Powerful

Lennie: Happiness

Caleb: Joy

Samuel: Pleasing

Samuel: When I found out we’d won, the first thing I did was tell the rest of our Computer Science class. I felt so pleased that our app idea had actually worked and that other people thought it was a good idea!

Freya: Receiving our winning certificates was just amazing, because you can hang it up and have proof that you’ve actually done it, since you put so much time and effort into it.

Lennie: I felt quite proud to have entered the Showcase. It’s quite a good thing for our futures as well. I can put the experience on my CV and it might open up a lot more job opportunities for me in the future.

Samuel: Since the Showcase, we’ve developed our app even further. We got AI to help us develop it and we’re hoping to make it actually work for our school. Showcase doesn’t have to be the end of the experience! We’re also going to have an Apps for Good stand at Open Evening.

Ellie: Even if you initially think you don’t have an interest in Computer Science, taking part in an Apps for Good course can really open up a different view. When I started, I had no real interest in Computer Science, but because of this, I’ve actually changed one of my GCSE options to Computer Science now, which really shows how much this has influenced me.

Caleb: Even if you’re not interested in Computing, the Apps for Good experience is still more than Computing, because you could do the media aspects or the presentation, developing your confidence. It’s a lot more than just coding and computers.

Freya: Even if you think your idea might not be good, or good enough to make an impact on the environment in our case, the judges actually absolutely loved our idea! So just go for whatever you think is best, go with your gut, because that’s usually right. Even if you don’t win, it’s still going to be an amazing experience!

Freya: If I hadn't been part of this experience, I wouldn’t have gained teamwork skills, expanded my coding skills or made new friends.

I entered Showcase last year in Year 8 too, which definitely made me appreciate Computer Science even though we didn’t win, as it’s still an amazing experience. Since then, I’ve been quite excited about doing it again, it’s really gone on to develop my passion and I’ll be doing Computer Science as a GCSE. The process has helped me develop my coding skills, which will definitely help me in the long run.

Ellie: If I hadn’t taken part in Showcase I wouldn’t have the belief in myself to be a part of something like this! I also really learnt how to work as part of a team.

Samuel: I developed my Leadership skills. Usually I’m someone who waits to be given an order, but with this, I took charge, and it went well!

Lennie: The Showcase experience could benefit my future job opportunities, but the best thing I learnt from Showcase was to believe in myself more.

Caleb: I enjoyed making new friends and am excited to put it on my CV and future job applications.

Issy: Showcase helped me learn how to work as part of a large group, and although it had rough moments, it had an amazing outcome!

Huge congratulations to Cedars Uniform Marketplace! Their creativity, collaboration and commitment to solving a real-world issue is what Apps for Good courses are all about.

Want to bring Apps for Good to your school? Learn more about our courses, or get in touch with us at education@appsforgood.org.