The IET Faraday Challenge was a Disaster!

Ellesmere College Lower School played host to the Autumn IET Regional Heats of the 2019 STEM Faraday Challenge and it was a disaster...but all teams rose to the challenge!!

Alongside the two teams from year 8 from Ellesmere College, there were teams from Terra Nova School, Prestfelde School and The Corbet School.

Students were challenged to design and build a prototype device to support communities after a disaster. This could be a vehicle or something to enhance a rescue plane, etc. It had to have some electronic component involved in the design and each team then had to present their ideas and demonstrate their prototype.

All teams did incredibly well with some great ideas on how to help people in a disaster zone including:

• designing amphibious vehicles
• parachute systems to drop aid into disaster zones
• adjustable seating to change the function of the plane
• systems to get cargo off the plane.

The winning team - Team 4 - from Ellesmere College designed a winch and pulley system to get goods from the plane to the people in need of aid quickly and efficiently.

The winning team were presented with their trophy by the Faraday Challenge Leader, and each took home an Amazon voucher for themselves as well as gaining a place on the league table.

Head of Physics, Amy Darrant, explained, 'The Faraday Challenge focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills. This task was really exciting as the students were working with a real life example and how they could help those affected by a disaster zone.

Participating in the School's winning team were: Joshua Norris, Jack Bell, Amelia Robinson, Myles Webster, Georgie Prescott and Isobel Gray.

Amy Darrant, Head of Physics at Ellesmere College, added, 'I was so impressed with the independence that the students showed. The work is completely their own and there was no teacher input at all. It's amazing to see what more our gifted and talented students can produce'.

For more information on the STEM / IET Programmes please visit: IET Faraday Challenge

9th October 2019  Back to News