Year 8 become young engineers for IET's Faraday Challenge

On Monday, 13 January a team of six Year 8 students had the opportunity to become engineers for the day as they took on the IET’s Faraday Challenge at Hutton Grammar School, the hosts. 

The IET Faraday Challenge is a national challenge running across the UK for Year 8 students. The challenge days focus on fun, teamwork and transferrable skills, whilst putting projects into a real-world context. 

As the day began, students were given a brief to develop and create a prototype for a product which provided them with the opportunity to research, design and discuss solutions for a real-life engineering problem.

ICT & Computing teacher, Miss Gregson, said, “Unfortunately, we’re not able to share any content about the brief as the competition is still live and other schools will be participating around the country. However, it was a pleasure to observe our students work together and share ideas for their design. “

Students were given a ration of ‘Faradays’,  a currency they could use to spend in the shop, filled with everything a budding engineer could need to construct their prototype. At the end of the day, students presented their idea and prototype as a team. They discussed the target audience and the materials they would use. 

Miss Gregson continued, “Despite another team taking home the trophy, our team still performed exceptionally well and I am very proud of them.”

All students will receive an Industrial Cadets Challenger Award for completing a hands-on problem solving and critical thinking activity. Industrial Cadets is run by the EDT - Engineering Development Trust - and they work with UK employers to create a talent pipeline and future skilled workforce, whilst helping young people to develop the skills they need to enter industry with confidence. 

Year 8 Imogen enjoyed the day, saying “It was a helpful experience for engineering and a fun way to learn about it and what you can do with such skills.”

Zach added, “During the day we have learned how to work as a team and learn how to save money. Working as a team is great for lots of jobs such as, working as an engineer, and you learn to work well with the other people alongside you.”

Well done Kaif A, Zach C, Dexter J, Imogen K, Lucas S and Joel W.