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.
