Material magic

Pupils from Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell won the Best Teamwork prize in the first Material World Go4SET programme designed to launch young people into careers in the Scottish textiles industry.

They were among S2 pupils from across Central Scotland who gathered at the Trades Hall, Glasgow, recently for the Material World Go4SET competition celebration and assessment day to showcase their work to a panel of expert judges, guests from industry and pupils’ families.

The Our Lady’s exceptional teamwork skills shone through as they worked together to design a prototype jacket.

The Go4SET competition encourages S2 pupils to “go for it!” and pursue further education, apprenticeships or careers in science, engineering and technology, getting them out of the classroom and giving them first-hand experience of the workplace.

For 10 weeks, 12–14 year olds work in teams of six with an industry mentor on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEAM)-themed projects based around real-world problems that need solving, from environmental issues to finance and technology.

Material World Go4SET teams are the first to be paired with mentors from the textiles industry, and the programme’s aim was to showcase the diverse applications of STEAM skills in textiles businesses.

Helen Anderson, Scotland director for competition-organisers EDT, said: “Go4SET encourages young people of today to be the engineers and scientists of tomorrow. It also helps them develop skills in team working, communication, report writing and problem solving – all essential skills in today’s world of work”.