Sixth formers at one of Britain’s leading independent schools have created an app to help people with social care needs.

Twelve students at Harrow School, in High Street, Harrow On The Hill developed ideas for the app that can help Harrow Council monitor adult social care using IBM’s Watson software.

A showcase event took place on Wednesday March 22 at the Old Speech gallery at Harrow School.

Some of the features of the app include a chat option and messages to improve communication and increase social interaction with friends, as well as a health interface with patient profile information.

There is also a video chat option to improve diagnosis and patient queries.

Daniel Larby, a student at the school who researched the project, said: “The elderly are a genuine presence in the community of Harrow, as the borough has one of the highest aging population of people and they deserve good social care.

“The trickiest part was to create an app to really make a difference- we tried to keep it simple and make things simple for the elderly who don’t use technology.”

The students were involved in a project called Lead Curriculum, which aims to insire students with leadership qualities and “bridge the gap” to address a lack of leadership skills at curriculum level. 

Founder Dennise Hilliman said: "Our collaborative approach encourages the exchange of ideas, while learning about the work already being carried out.

"We aim to forge and encourage new partnerships and foster meaningful engagement particularly between schools and employers."