Gateway engineers help pupils perfect science skills
STUDENTS have been gaining specialist skills in science, technology, engineering and maths from Mersey Gateway experts.
Pupils from St Chad’s Catholic And Church Of England High School in Runcorn and The Prescot School in Prescot took part in sessions with graduate civil engineers in an initia- tive run by the Merseylink consortium to share expertise with children.
Budding engineers from Years 8, 9 and 10 listened to presentations from Rosey Thurling and John Wen, both graduate civil engineers with Merseylink.
Rosey and Jon spoke about how they had come into civil engineering from different routes, Rosey via university, and John, through working as an apprentice and then going into further education.
Following the introduction, students were tasked with building their own bridges, and testing them to see which was the strongest, with prizes awarded for the best.
Dr Gavin McNeill, St Chad’s science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) coordinator, said: “The chance for Year 9 and 10 pupils to hear about STEM careers from people currently working on a local engineering project allowed them to learn important information for future career opportunities.”
Natasha Anderson, Year 10 pupil studying triple science subjects at St Chad’s, said: “I didn’t think the presentation would be as interesting as it was. It is something I will look into. I didn’t think women were allowed to work in engineering and construction.”
Freya Atkins, fellow pupil, said: “It was really good to hear about the different routes you can take to get into a career in engineering.”
Gareth Stuart, Merseylink project director, said sharing graduate engineers’ skills with students was a great way to inspire the next generation to pursue a career in STEM subjects.
He said: “The Merseylink consortium brings together UK expertise with world leaders in major bridge building and highways projects, to combine technology and best practice specifically for this project.
“It’s fantastic to be able to share this with aspiring engineers of the future.”