Made of only small pieces of wood, nails and glue, the bridge could hold a weight of 250 kilograms – about the same as a petite grand piano.

Painstakingly constructed by students from Gungahlin College, it was the record-breaking strength winner of the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Bridge Challenge, which encourages students to design and build the strongest bridge possible to support a load in time-trialled heats against rival schools.

Eleven schools and 86 students from years 9 and 10 entered this year’s challenge, which has been running since 2015.

Students were given materials in March and had until May to complete their bridges, either in their own time or as part of their school curriculum.

Teams were asked to prepare bridge designs that showcased construction, efficiency and strength solely with the materials supplied, with the end result being the total amount the bridge can hold before destruction.

The challenge is open to teams of students currently enrolled in years 9 and 10 or in building and construction Certificate I or II at schools, with winning teams receiving engraved trophies.

The winners of the strength award, from Gungahlin College

Event organiser Tony Cowlishaw said the challenge gives students a taste of possible career opportunities available in the construction and engineering fields.

“At the last bridge challenge we had some carpenters walk past, and they said to the teachers ‘the reason I’m doing carpentry today is because of the bridge challenge,’” he said.

“They hadn’t thought of it as a career path before that. So it’s about broadening the range of learning and recognising that students may not always be aware of all the different career and study options after they complete high school.”

Challenge participants Daniel and Theo, from Canberra High School, helped their team build a bridge that held a total of 205kg before breaking.

Daniel said it was an excellent engineering experience.

“We had to make three other bridges before the final one to test the weight, so I enjoyed working out the structure and seeing how it affected each bridge’s’ performance,” he said.

Theo said the challenge may have changed his career path.

“Originally I was thinking of going into construction - now I am looking into a career in engineering because I enjoyed this so much,” he said.

This year’s challenge was supported by Project Coordination, National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and Geocon.