Rugby girls scoop top national engineering prize

Four students from a Rugby school have scooped the Royal Academy of Engineering Prize at the Big Bang Fair, the UKs biggest celebration of science and engineering.

Bethan Dobson (17), Georgina Flower (17), Sarah Parsons (18) and Charlotte Porter (18), who are all studying for their A levels at Rugby High School, won the award for demonstrating the best application of engineering principles in the National Science & Engineering Competition.  They received their prize from Professor Brian Cox at an awards ceremony in London last Friday (11 March).

The girls project saw them undertake a detailed research study for Rugby-based international engineering firm Alstom, which employs almost 1,000 people in the town and works closely with Rugby High School. As part of the students work, they used a scale model to identify a calibration system to assess running tip clearance in steam turbine blades used to make electricity in power stations, creating computer software to analyse the results. The challenge given to the girls is similar to work undertaken by teams at Alstom at their steam turbine facility.

The engineering foursome fought off stiff competition from 155 other entries to be awarded £500 and a special experience prize provided by Expedition Engineering, the designers of landmark structures such as the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome.

Charlotte said: Alstom gave us this challenge as the school has an ongoing link with them. We all loved doing this project which wasnt part of the school curriculum; we did it in our own time.

Sarah added: Engineering is such a male dominated area. When I did work experience I was the only female in the office but why should we be stereotyped? We have proved that women can contribute a lot to engineering and its good to have a mix of genders.

Lord Browne of Madingley, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering said: "I am delighted to see Rugby High School take the prize for what is an exceptional project. What they have achieved is not just a school project but a highly-professional piece of engineering research which has the potential to make a difference in the real world.

Its wonderful to witness such enthusiasm, dedication and talent from four young women. It has reinforced my optimism about the future of science and engineering in the UK.

Helena Austin, Human Resources Director at Alstom UK said: Wed like to congratulate Bethan, Georgina, Sarah and Charlotte on their excellent achievement. Its so encouraging to see young people with such passion and aptitude for science and engineering, and these four students clearly have a bright future ahead of them.

As a founding member of the National Skills Academy for Power, Alstom is committed to promoting skills development and training opportunities for young people. As this prize demonstrates, there is a wealth of young talent in our industry and were delighted to show our support.

11- to 18-year-olds from across the UK were given the chance to enter the Royal Academy of Engineering Prize, part of the UKs National Science & Engineering Competition by completing a project or activity in any field of engineering.

Sir Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association which runs the National Science & Engineering Competition said: The National Science & Engineering Competition aims to inspire the talent of the future by making science, engineering, technology and maths more appealing for young people. All of the finalists brought something different to the competition but their entries show just how exciting and extraordinary science and engineering can be.

ENDS

For more information please contact: Ed Holmes at The Royal Academy of Engineering
020 7766 0655 or ed.holmes@raeng.org.uk 

Notes for Editors 

The Royal Academy of Engineering
Founded in 1976, The Royal Academy of Engineering promotes the engineering and technological welfare of the country. Our fellowship comprising the UKs most eminent engineers provides the leadership and expertise for our activities, which focus on the relationships between engineering, technology, and the quality of life. As a national academy, we provide independent and impartial advice to Government; work to secure the next generation of engineers; and provide a voice for Britains engineering community.
www.raeng.org.uk 

National Science & Engineering Competition
The National Science & Engineering Competition 2011 was open to 11-18 year olds across the UK.
Finalists were invited to present their project at The Big Bang. Here they had their own exhibition stand amongst the big household names and were able to show-off all their hard work to journalists, prospective employers and universities as well as the school groups and VIPs attending The Fair.
As well as the great prizes for both teams and individuals, winners of the senior individual categories are crowned the UK Young Scientist of the Year or the UK Young Engineer of the Year at the award winners ceremony.
www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/nsec 

The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair
The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair took place from 10-12 March 2011 at ICC London at ExCeL, celebrating and raising the profile of young peoples achievement in science and engineering and encourage more young people to take part in science, technology, engineering and maths initiatives with support from their parents and teachers. School groups were invited to visit the first two days of The Big Bang, which was also open to the public on the Saturday. Young people were shown how science and engineering feature in everything they wear, eat and do. A number of apprentice, graduate and experienced engineers and scientists were also on hand to quiz and young people hand opportunity to discover a great career.
www.thebigbangfair.co.uk