Challenge Winners from Weymouth College

Weymouth College students won at the annual Engineering Challenge Day.

The days are sponsored by the Fleet Air Arm Museum in association with Aimhigher.

The successful group were David Bull, Jack Foot, Philip Paul, Jack Prior, Oliver Smart and Maxine Wildeman who all study at Weymouth College on the National Diploma in Engineering. They won the Aimhigher Engineering Challenge trophy.

The aim of the day is to raise awareness of engineering in higher education and as a career. It was also an excellent opportunity for the young people attending to utilise and extend their technical knowledge.

Key museum staff and volunteers, the majority of whom are engineers, were on hand for teams to consult during the project.

The project task included aspects of mechanisms, forces and motion and control.Teams were required to design, build and test their projects. Team working, communication and pragmatism are key to the activity.  

Mike Robbins, who is the group's tutor at Weymouth College, was impressed with how dedicated the team were: "The group showed great commitment and concentration during the day and represented the college admirably."

Team leader Maxine Wildeman explained: "The task consisted of designing and demonstrating, at model scale, a new aircraft landing system operating from a stable platform out in rough seas.

"In addition it all had to be controlled by an electrical control system. I really enjoyed the day and think all schools and colleges across the UK should get involved in teamworking tasks such as this one that the Fleet Air Arm Museum and AimHigher provided. It improved our communication skills and shows employers that we can work together under pressure."