eat your heart out, IKEA. Aspiring architect Sara Last was selected as a finalist in a national design contest.

The Young Designers Competition, sponsored by Brunel University, Middlesex, invites students to enter their design and technology coursework into a national competition.

Sixteen-year-old Sara, a pupil at South Hampstead High School, north London, was chosen from 1,000 entries from more than 250 UK schools for her multipurpose wooden storage unit. She tells People: "It was a really enjoyable occasion and I felt honoured to be chosen. I was interviewed by a member of the Brunel University Design Department and by an editor of a design magazine.

"I discussed how I came to my final idea and how I was going to market my integrated study unit. I was interested in selling it to universities for halls of residence as I know space in these rooms are very limited. My desk allows a desk and a chair and a storage unit to be stored in one area."

The 15 finalists were asked to bring their project to a London venue and set up an exhibition last month.

Sara, who has recently finished her GCSEs, is off on Israel Tour with BA this summer. She then hopes to study maths, chemistry, design and technology and Art A-levels.