Three Central Coast Grammar School students Bethan, Felicity and Zoë, have been named runners-up in the statewide Future Health Worldbuilding Competition. The initiative, led by NSW Health, asked students to imagine future healthcare challenges in 2040, and to propose an innovative and practical solution.
The competition was highly competitive, with over 100 submissions from students across Years 7 to 10, and only 21 teams selected as finalists. The group’s innovative concept LifeLink, placed them among the brightest young future thinkers in New South Wales.
When initially tackling this challenge, they described their brainstorming session as chaotic. “We had a big piece of A3 paper, and there were just scribbles all over it,” Felicity laughed. “We had so much on there, from drones to robots.”
But amid the initial chaos emerged a clear priority, “We wanted to make it accessible for everyone,” Bethan said. “We also wanted to look at proactive and preventative care, rather than reactive.”
The group also realised that 2040 isn’t far away: “2040 is only 14 years away, so we really had to think of something that could actually happen,” Felicity explained.
A commitment to real-world feasibility is what set their idea apart, demonstrating a level of maturity that impressed both the judges and mentors.
The idea for LifeLink began with the girls huddled around Bethan’s Apple Watch, analysing the ways it monitors health. “We wanted to do something like that, but more advanced,” they explained. That moment sparked an idea.
While the competition challenged the girls intellectually, they expressed that the biggest impact was on their confidence. “We had all thought about making a change, but this program empowered us to feel as though we could make a change,” said Felicity.
At the Future Health Symposium, held at the Westmead Innovation Centre in Sydney, the girls were joined by finalists across New South Wales. There, they presented LifeLink to leading figures in health and government and explained how it felt to have their ideas heard.
“It was really cool to firstly come up with our idea, but actually being listened to by those big figures, having them consider our ideas for the future was amazing,” Felicity said.
When the results were announced, naming them runners-up, the girls were stunned. Their success not only recognises their creativity, but the effort and teamwork they had poured into their concept for LifeLink.
Bethan, Felicity and Zoë are now inspired to explore new pathways because of the experience.
“Before this, I never would have considered a career in medicine, but it’s been so interesting to see all the different aspects to medicine that are available,” said Bethan.
Felicity added, “It has opened my mind up to engineering and innovation, looking more at design and research.”
Their success reflects more than just a result. Bethan, Felicity and Zoë’s achievement represents imagination, integrity and courage, key characteristics fostered at Grammar. Through opportunities like this, our students are not only learning about the future but are actively shaping it.
You can watch their submission here.