Royal High Bath hosted an event to celebrate their former pupil, Jane Pearce, who has won the prestigious Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, by unveiling a purple plaque in her honour on the school site.
Purple plaques are being displayed at schools across the country to recognise the achievements of the winners of the prestigious Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award. The Award also sees recipients receive up to £75,000 grant funding and a 12 month support package to scale up their businesses and bring their pioneering innovations to market.
Jane Pearce is part of a network of over 200 Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award winners who are developing inspiring solutions to pressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges; from multi-grip bionic arms for amputees, an AI that curbs your unhealthy cravings, and satellite data to detect long-lost archaeological sites.
Jane Pearce, alumna of Royal High Bath, is committed to making a positive impact on the world through the recovery and reuse of phosphate, a finite natural resource critical to growing food. Her Women in Innovation project revolutionises the way we use phosphate through its safe removal from problem areas, enabling its reuse on land where it is needed. This innovation creates a circular solution that reduces the impact of imported, mined phosphate on the planet for a more sustainable future. Jane’s achievements include securing a 2023 Innovate UK Smart Grant to develop an innovative container system for water treatment sites. This technology promises to revolutionise how treatment facilities handle phosphate recovery and reuse.
Jane Pearce said: “I’m honoured and excited to be receiving the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award at my old school, Royal High Bath. I remember my time there fondly and it was a real pleasure to come back to the school to talk to the students about my innovation project and to help inspire the next female innovators.”
Heidi-Jayne Boyes, Head at Royal High Bath said: “We feel privileged to welcome Jane back to Royal High to receive the UK award for Women in Innovation and recognise her achievements in building a successful start-up. At Royal High we strive to embrace tomorrow’s world through innovative and creative thinking, equipping students with the skills, confidence and compassion to live a life unlimited. Jane’s award is a fascinating and inspiring example for our girls of what you can achieve with hard work and resilience. We are excited to follow Jane’s journey to see her future successes.”
