A TALENTED Kidderminster teenager has soared to a national prize after using his design skills to produce an aeroplane for tomorrow.

Joe Foley, a year nine student at King Charles I School, scooped top prize in the Future Flight Airliner Designer of the Year awards' 11 to 14-year-old category.

The youngster used specialist online software in a physics class to create his low-emission 450-seat aircraft last year.

Head of physics at the Comberton Road school, Chris Hardy, was alerted to the competition by a former pupil who now studies at Southampton University, which ran the contest.

Joe's efforts have bagged him a new laptop computer, a VIP visit to the Airbus factory near Bristol and an all expenses paid trip to the 2006 Farnborough International Airshow.

The 14-year-old admitted he found it hard to believe his eyes when the e-mail came through notifying him of his success after months of hearing nothing.

Joe said: "I did not expect to hear anything because it had been so long since I did the designs.

"The website allowed you to save your best three and then send them through to the judges.

"I started in a physics lesson and then carried on working on it when I got home. It was a big shock when I got the e-mail telling me that I had won and my dad asked me if I was sure it was genuine."

The Rosemary Road resident added he was looking forward to his trip and could "possibly" go back to the drawing board to enter this year's contest for a different age group.

Dr Nigel Collins, King Charles I School's science enrichment and science theatre manager, commended the pupil on his award.

He explained: "It is just fantastic for Joe. The competition would have been entered by a lot of people and to take the prize is a great achievement."

Anyone interested in taking part in this year's competition, which is open to anyone aged 11 to 19, can find out more by visiting www.futureflight.org