Open a school bag and you may find a laptop computer or even an oxygen tank. Three youths with clever ideas bagged the prizes in the My Ideal School Bag Design Competition, which attracted 500 entries. It was organised by the youth group Breakthrough and was sponsored by LeSportsac. Designers aged between 10 and 29 sent draft copies of their dream bag to Breakthrough's Web site. Judge William Tang said he was amazed today's schoolchildren had to bring so much to school. 'I was surprised to find they needed space for laptop computers, pocket dictionaries and, in one case, even an oxygen tank,' he said. 'Students nowadays need a school bag with a compact design that can hold many different things. 'We seem to have entered a new age of schooling.' Suki Leung Wai-yee, who won first and second prize in the open section, said she never dreamed she would win a prize. She was simply ecstatic after winning two. The 24-year-old handbag designer was encouraged to enter the contest by a LeSportsac salesperson. 'She said it was a good chance for me to win a professional prize,' Ms Leung said. 'And so I entered, not dreaming I would win two prizes.' Ms Leung, who has been designing for a travel-bag company for two years, said because most of her company's products sold abroad she never got to see people using them. 'But if the company decides to sell my designs locally, I will see many children using the bags in Hong Kong,' she said. Ms Leung said her professional design experience enabled her to produce a bag that was practical and fashionable. Wong Kam-shan, who won the senior section, designed an embroidered bag with a tiny pocket in which to carry an Octopus card. The Form Five student, of Lung Kong World Federation Lau Wong Fat Secondary School, said she asked her friends what they wanted in a bag. 'Many said they found it difficult to locate their Octopus card in their bulky bags,' Kam-shan said. 'So I hung a little pocket on my bag in which to carry the card.' Junior section winner Sin Yiu-lun, of St Francis Xavier's School (Tsuen Wan), installed a small light- bulb in his bag. 'This makes it convenient for students to find books, pens or anything in the bag even if it is dark,' he said. First prize in each section was $3,000, second was $2,000, and third $1,000. The winning designs will be exhibited at LeSportsac stores in Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty. The competition was co-sponsored by the Hong Kong Art Development Council.
