School pupils soar in Cardiff and Vale College Aerospace Challenge

Budding aircraft engineers from schools based across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan have been put through their paces at a special Aero Challenge held by Cardiff and Vale College.

The Year 10 pupils travelled to the College’s renowned International Centre for Aerospace Training )ICAT) for the annual Aero Challenge. The competition has been designed to give school pupils a taste of the various tasks involved in the aerospace engineering industry and to show the value of vocational education, with CAVC learners helping out and acting as ambassadors.

A team from Pencoedtre High Schools won the contest, retaining their title as a team from the school were the winners last year. The competition involved tests of hand and eye skills and project management – the pupils also got to try their hands at the College’s flight simulator.

Pencoedtre High School Maths Teacher Holly Bryant said: “CAVC is an amazing venue, the staff are really friendly and helpful from the moment you step into the building. The activities are great – the pupils really like the variety and I think it really showcases a number of different avenues they could go down in the future.

“It was really nice to have the CAVC learners there too – they were really, helpful and enthusiastic and the pupils really liked speaking to them about the courses they were doing. It is one of my favourite days of the year and the best trip I have been on.”