Lee Davies, deputy chief executive of the Institute of Learning, said he was "inspired" by the students who took part in the Schools Digital Challenge this year.

The three winning schools were announced by the British Interactive Media Association at an awards ceremony recently, from thousands of entrants, as: Baxter College, Kidderminster, Djanogly City Academy, Nottingham and Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre, Tenterden, Kent.

The annual competition is for those aged 11-18, and is aimed at getting young people involved in the digital industry.

This year, schools across the UK were asked to devise a digital solution that provided real practical benefits for their community.

Winning schools will be rewarded with long-term links with the digital industry.

Mr Davies said: "I look forward to working with BIMA, colleges and training providers across the country to encourage similar levels of engagement in the further education sector next year."

Mirage Islam, chair of education and innovation group at BIMA, said: "This challenge has provided us with an innovative way to bridge the gap between schools and the digital media industry.

"As young people are growing up in an increasingly digital world, we want them to experience the digital industry at an earlier stage.

"This competition enables us to lead the way in engaging future talent - encouraging and nurturing the next generation of web designers, developers, new media strategists and social media gurus."

The competition was judged by BIMA education and innovation group members, Michael Collins, Ann Jamieson and Hal Robinson, Judith Masters, SSAT's head of cultural networks, and the client services team at Fortune Cookie.

The event was attended by senior education dignitaries from academia and government sectors as well as key members from the digital industry.

John Hughes