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Budding engineers attend workshop at leading Fenland firm

A group of Year 10 GCSE students gained some hands on experience within a real life work setting when they visited a Chatteris engineering firm to take part in a technical workshop.

 

A group of Year 10 GCSE students gained some hands on experience within a real life work setting when they visited a Chatteris engineering firm to take part in a technical workshop.

Metalcraft – which was involved in the manufacture of the world’s first MI scanner – hosted the event in conjunction with Cambridge University and the Fenland Partnership.

The group of students, who all have a passion for engineering, were tasked with designing and building crane structures and then testing them to destruction.

They had to make their structures out of paper, screws and masking tape and then loaded the structure with weights until it collapsed.

The winning team was made up of Aaron Bennington, Anthony Brazil , Callum Skeels and Cameron Green, whose structure carried 22.95 times its weight.

Aaron said: “I think the reason why our crane won was because we reinforced the paper tubes. We found that the key was not to have any creases in the tubes as this made them weak.”

Callum, who wants to attend college to become an engineer said: “It was a great day and we learned a lot about construction.”

The students tested the crane structures by attaching a bucket to the end, which was then filled with tins of baked beans. They were led in the task by tutors from Cambridge University.

Metalcraft, which was involved in making parts for the ground breaking Hadron Collider -  is home to the Fenland Engineering Skills Centre. The centre is viewed by the company as one of the key elements of a strategy to find young, talented engineers who will ensure that the company continues to compete in the manufacture of high quality, safety critical equipment for the markets it serves.

Ciaran Lethbridge was impressed by the firm.

He said: “It was pretty amazing to learn about how Metalcraft were involved in the manufacture of the first MRI scanners.”

Design teacher Marcus Loosemore said: “This is the fourth year running that our students have attended a workshop at Metalcraft and it is a great way for the students to learn more about a Fenland company that is a leader in what it does.

“They were also able to see a company at work and the project itself pushed them out of their comfort zone and taught them some new skills.”

Click here to view a gallery of the day