The annual competition for year 10 students is run by the university's engineering department and tests students' skills in maths, science, engineering and project management.

This is the third time Girton Grammar School has taken out the prize.

This time, however, the students also took home the People's Choice Award.

A spaghetti machine is an overly complex machine used to perform a relatively simple task.

The Girton Grammar School students worked three hours a week for four months to create an impressive contraption to the theme of "wake up".

Their machine is inspired by the well-known Wiggles character "Jeff", famous for the "Wake-up Jeff" song. They created numerous contraptions designed to get Jeff out of bed.

“It starts with a clock running, followed by a bedside lamp being turned on then all the way through to his blanket being pulled off and finally after his bed is tipped up, he falls through a trap door and lands in his seat at the breakfast table,” year 10 student Lucas Kirby said.

Sunday Lam, 16, said the final manoeuvre of flipping Jeff from his bed to the kitchen was the group's "wow factor" designed to impress the judges and audience.

"I think we really worked well as a team," he said.

The students worked on their machine for four months, at least three hours a week.

Almost all the materials used were recycled. Sunday Lam said the group brought a lot of the materials from home.

Girton Grammar School headmaster Matthew Maruff said to be a winner of the competition, not just once but for a third time, was an outstanding achievement for students and teachers.

In total 24 teams entered the contest.

The machines were judged by engineering industry professionals and academics.