We were delighted to be invited to the ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’ award ceremony which took place at the University of Lincoln on Tuesday 2^nd July 2024. Having held a successful Engineering Day back in March, we were able to send many entries off and received the exciting news that two of our pupils, Raam P in Year 5 and Ben W in Year 6, had been chosen as winners of their respective year groups of the East England region of this national competition. They were invited to the award ceremony where they were able to see their work, as well as highly commended entries, and be presented with their award.

In the setting of the impressive and modern Isaac Newton building, it was fantastic to view Raam and Ben’s entries as well as the other fantastic ideas from children in nursery all the way up to Year 11. From devices to avoid trapping fingers in doors to trolley navigation devices to ease the shopping burden, there were so many innovative designs on show. The ceremony itself celebrated these diverse and creative ideas and a particular highlight was to see one of last year’s designs turned into an actual prototype by the university’s engineering department. The ‘teddy blood pressure monitor’ was designed to make taking blood pressure less stressful for children and the prototype was unveiled for the first time in the presence of its designer. Who knows-perhaps we will be seeing Raam and Ben’s design follow the same path next year!

It was a lovely evening and both children should be proud of their achievements. We hope it has inspired them to follow a career in engineering and we very much look forward to following their journeys. It was also a fitting end to Mrs Saperia’s time as the Head of the science department who, over the years, has facilitated this competition. For her to attend the evening, it was a fitting way to mark her hard work and dedication.