Following their visit to Legoland to study rollercoasters last year, our Second Year students took on the challenge of planning and building their very own rollercoaster for Thorpe Park this week, as part of the Institute of Engineering and Technology Faraday Challenge.

We run this Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) event every year for our Second year students, and it's always a hugely popular day. The year group are split into small groups, with important roles for each member of the team including Project Manager, Electrical engineer, Environmental Advisor, Account and Designer.

The day started with a quick electric circuit apprenticeship to understand the components available to them, before moving on to designing and building a model rollercoaster. Teams then presented their designs to a panel of judges, who were impressed with the teams' creativity and problem solving.

Beyond the annual Faraday Challenge, we also apply every year to be considered for the national Faraday engineering competition. Last year we were thrilled to be awarded a place and host a first round competition for several local schools.

For those interested in Design and Technology beyond the classroom, the IET are linked to Smallpeice Trust, another engineering education charity who offer amazing engineering courses at top universities during the school holidays. Smallpeice Trust also run the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship programme, which pupils can apply for during Fifth year (Year 11). This offers successful scholars the opportunity to work with top engineering firms such as Rolls Royce, and attend Arkwright events for the rest of their lives. A St George's, we're incredibly proud of the students who successfully secured an Arkwright Scholarship every year for the last 3 years. We wish our applicants this year the very best of luck!

For more information about the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Programme, please visit the Smallpeice Trust.