Year 8 pupils at Portsmouth High School competed in the one of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Faraday® Challenge days as part of a national competition.
The day was one of the ongoing opportunities for stretch and challenge offered at the school through the Gifted, Able, Talented and Enrichment (GATE) programme. The event, hosted at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, saw two Portsmouth High School teams compete against teams from other schools. Each team was given a specific engineering brief and they were excited to explore ideas and were determined to complete every aspect of every task to the best of their ability.
The competitors were all delighted when the Portsmouth High School Team 1 were announced overall winners. The team was awarded a trophy, and will now be on the school league table. We wait to see if, at the end of the year, they are one of the teams invited to compete in the national final.
Flora and Eddie from Team 4 said ‘It was such a fun event and it was about so much more than simply machines. Seeing first-hand how things work made the theory so much clearer and easier to understand.’
Elizabeth, from the winning Team 1 said ‘The event was totally different from anything I have ever done before. It challenged me to think outside the box and I learned so much from a real hands-on approach. Beaulieu was a great venue and the staff were all very helpful and, if we got stuck, they helped us move our ideas forward.’
GATE co-ordinator, Dr Stockton-Chalk said ‘I am incredibly proud of the two teams. Everyone enjoyed the day, and all who attended want to learn more about how they can be the next generation of engineers. I can’t wait to see their journeys progress.’
