Wreake Valley Students ‘Set’ for the Future

A team of students aged between 12 and 14 from Wreake Valley Community College in Syston have spent 10 weeks working on a project designed to inspire the scientists and engineers of the future. The students are taking part in the Go4SET (Go for Science, Engineering and Technology) programme and, having completed their project, will be attending a Celebration and Assessment Day at the CELS Building at Nottingham Trent University on the? 16th March.
The students are working with local company Babcock International Group, Nuclear Division on an Energy Conservation project and will be presenting their conclusions to judges who will be awarding prizes in such areas as? best? project, best teamwork and for innovation.
Kevin Lawrence a teacher at Wreake Valley College supervising the students says:
“We are really proud of the effort that our students are putting into this project. It involves a lot of work outside the normal curriculum but they are really enthusiastic about applying science and engineering to a real environmental problem, GO4SET has really inspired them.”
The energy project involves looking at energy usage in a building or part of the school and assessing how wastage could be reduced or other sources utilised. The overall savings to the school of the combination of measures recommended can be assessed.
Go4SET is a work-related learning scheme designed to stimulate young people’s interest in science, engineering and technology (SET) at a key stage in their education.? Delivered by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) and funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) through its £6 million STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) initiative, the project links schools and businesses together to deliver a solution to an environmental problem which is both relevant to the school and the company.?
Andy Snart from Babcock says:
“Everyone at Babcock understands that it is vital to encourage young people to consider a career in STEM subjects, so that Britain has the skills it needs in the future. Go4SET is a brilliant project for showing students what they can achieve by participating in STEM activities. It has been a pleasure working with such an enthusiastic group.”
Andrew Morgan, East Midlands Development Agency’s (emda) Skills and Communities Director, added:
“Go4SET is an excellent scheme, which gets the region’s students involved with local businesses and nurtures talent by inspiring students to become the scientists and engineers of the future. Our partnership with EDT to deliver this inspiring project is particularly important to maintain the East Midlands’ future economic development and help it become a flourishing region.”
Schools or companies interested in taking part in future Go4SET programmes should contact Geoff Jellis on 0115 951 6688