Partnership working reaps rewards for Eyemouth young engineers

An innovative partnership between Borders College and Eyemouth High School which aims to change current views about engineering, and present it as a fascinating, relevant and dynamic career choice for any youngster, has just celebrated the completion of its first year with an awards ceremony held at Eyemouth High School as part of the Year of Young People 2018.

Twelve pupils on the Borders College developed Introduction to Engineering course saw College lecturer Dave Black run the innovative partnership course each week at Eyemouth. A key aim of the project was to try and address the gender imbalance into engineering subjects in line with the Scottish Government’s ambition  to ‘ensure equitable admissions by gender’ into college courses.

Dave Black said:

“To engage with the youngsters and reinforce the importance of engineering, and associated STEM subjects, we decided to use the Greenpower Racing Car project as a way to get the students involved in a project that they would want to take part in and at the same time get them to consider engineering as a potential career path.”

Greenpower Racing gives students the opportunity to take part in a national series of race events which are attended by schools and colleges throughout the UK.

At the recent race event in East Fortune, the ‘Eyemouth Coasters’ team finished second overall in F24 category (schools category) and also won a special Greenpower award for most innovative design.

As well as developing engineering skills in the construction of an electric racing car, the project also helps to develop the students’ essential life skills including team work, problem solving and enterprise skills.

The partnership project involved the College and key staff members at Eyemouth High School who are passionate about the Greenpower Racing Car project. Eyemouth Technician Paul Watson was instrumental in pushing the project forward and a key player in getting local businesses to sponsor the racing car, which would take part in Greenpower electric car races, as well as supporting the project both in and out of school.
As part of the awards ceremony, Eyemouth High School was presented with the inaugural Borders College STEM Trophy for the school or community group who was deemed to have engaged ‘most successfully’ with STEM learning on a Borders College programme during the 2017/2018 academic year.

Student team member George Paterson said: “It was great building a highly reliable electric race car.”
“Just shows what a small school like Eyemouth can actually achieve, I feel really proud,” commented Greta Kvizlkeviciute.
The Eyemouth Greenpower sponsors are Amey, Ahlstrom-Munksjö, Tesco, Giacopazzis, Rotary International, Brucegate Dental Practice, SWP Engineering, Ideal Carpets, Simpsons Malt, and Fantasy Prints.

The pupils involved in the project and receiving certificates were: Kyle Coull, Jack Grant, Liam Jones, Greta Kvizikeviciute, James Oliver, George Paterson, William Renton, Jamie Robertson, Jane Robertson, Charlie Truman-Lough and Sophie Whitten.