SIXTH-form students at 20 schools throughout the South West will compete to create redevelopment plans for Plymouth's Millbay area - one of the region's top-priority regeneration sites.

The east side of the site has been purchased by the South West's Regional Development Agency, with a view to delivering a major regeneration programme.

100 sixth-form pupils, from both state and private schools, have taken up the challenge of the unique Schools Competition on Sustainable Development, organised by the South West region of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and the University of Plymouth.

Now in its fourth year, the event is unique to the South West, and aims to expose sixth-form students to the challenges of urban regeneration, and to promote the importance of sustainable development.

The competing schools' teachers attended a briefing conference at the University of Plymouth in July, which included lectures and workshops on sustainability and a tour of the site.

Their students will be provided with 360-degree virtual-reality images of the site, a regional sustainable development framework for the South West, a sustainable construction information pack, and environmental building case studies.

The competition will be staged at the University of Plymouth on 1st December.

In teams of four, the students will have the opportunity to consult industry experts, including architects, chartered surveyors, civil engineers, and the port's manager.

Co-ordinator for this year's event is Paul Murray, Head of Built Environment programmes at the University of Plymouth, who was recently awarded a National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy. He is the second ever built-environment lecturer, and the only qualified building surveyor to receive this accolade.