Budding Engineers at Wycombe Abbey
20 September 2024 - Academic
It’s been a great few months for our budding engineers in the Sixth Form!
During the summer, Bea (UVI) took part in the International Space Settlement Design Competition, which emulates the experience of working as a member of an aerospace industry proposal team as closely as possible. These competitions are set in a futuristic society where humanity has expanded into the solar system. Each competition cycle involves the design and development of the next iterative expansion from Earth – from the first settlement in Earth’s orbit to the colonisation of the asteroid belt.
Bea flew out to take part in the competition in Florida with Vulture Aviation and teammates from the UK, USA, China, Australia and India. Bea played a vital role in securing a win as Head of Structural and was also awarded the Best Presenter title for her confident delivery of her team’s design.
We also have exciting news from our Gold Industrial Cadets. Two teams, each consisting of six Lower Sixth pupils, have been working on an engineering project since last September. They have collaborated with an external mentor, a professional engineer from the energy company SSE. Both teams worked on developing ideas to improve the energy efficiency of the School. They enjoyed a site visit to SSE and a two-day workshop at the University of Cambridge, where they stayed at St Catharine’s College and worked in the labs of the university’s engineering department. In April, the team submitted their written report and presented their project to a panel of judges via Zoom, which went extremely well.
At the celebration event in Bristol, just after the end of last term, Bea and Bella (UVI) represented their team and displayed their project. They also opted to compete in a new category, which involved presenting a business pitch to a panel of judges. Costing sheets had to be submitted in advance, and Bella and Bea showed courage, resilience, and creativity when responding to rigorous questions.
We would also like to congratulate Estelle (LVI) for competing in a rigorous testing and interview process to secure a prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship sponsored by the Royal Air Force. This highly sought-after award inspires and empowers young talents, providing crucial support to help them achieve their aspirations of becoming professional engineers. Estelle hopes to use the support of the scholarship to read Aerospace Engineering at university.
Thanks to the staff who support the girls to achieve so highly and well done to all girls who proved their engineering prowess, we look forward to seeing how you use your talents in the future.
Keep up to date with further news from Wycombe Abbey on our social channels.