Rotary arrives to help STEM the gap!!! (10/16)
On the last Wednesday of the half term Chalfont’s hosted the first South Buckinghamshire Rotary Design Challenge. Students from Chalfonts and The Beaconsfield School worked in teams of four to ‘design and build’ a bridge to a set specification. The students were grouped in their respective age groups aligned to their key stage.
On the last Wednesday of the half term Chalfont’s hosted the first South Buckinghamshire Rotary Design Challenge.
Students from Chalfonts and The Beaconsfield School worked in teams of four to ‘design and build’ a bridge to a set specification. The students were grouped in their respective age groups aligned to their key stage.
The day was very intensive with students having to produce a portfolio of design ideas and then making the bridge from card and light modelling materials before having it tested with model ships and weights to ensure that it worked.
The Rotary judges and stewards ensured fair play and scrutinised the finished entries. Some of the judges were STEM Ambassadors that volunteer to help at a range of events that the college offers to boost interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. These are the subjects which lead to careers where the country is short of qualified staff.
At the end of the day the Beaconsfield teams walked away with prizes in the Foundation (Key stage 3) and Intermediate (Key stage 4) categories, with Chalfonts students claiming the prize in the Advanced section( 6th Form).
Chalfont’s is looking forward to the next challenge with hopefully more schools involved.
James Giles, STEM Lead