Your stories
We'd love to hear your stories of STE(A)M activities so that we can share it with others.
If you would like to contribute something to this section, or have queries about anything already posted here, please let us know.
On Saturday 25 February, King Edward VI Grammar School (KEGS) Young Engineers team 'Illuminatus', all in year 8, embarked on a journey to the First Lego League (FLL) National Finals at the University of Western England in Bristol. It was a great experience and we all gained something from it.
Thank you to CSES for awarding us a STEM Club Bursary which helped us to continue with this competition and go to Bristol. Below, some of the team members have given their own accounts of the event and what they have learned from it.
Congratulations to team Illuminatus, who went on to win the Design Execution award at the 2017 Schools' Competition.
In LEGO club, we use LEGO to practise STEM skills. We have used LEGO to make boats that float, make bridges that hold at least 2 kg, create models to design specifications and learn basic coding. Our favourite challenge was to design and make a device to send a LEGO figure down a zip line. We also enjoyed building tall towers and figuring out ways to make them stable. We were happy to receive the bursary and hope to use it to get some technical LEGO and power functions so we can build moving models.
— Daniel, Christopher, Maya and Tom (10 years old)
CSES awarded a bursary of £100 to Frinton-on-Sea Primary School in January 2017, followed by the STEM Club Award at the 2017 Schools' Competition.
We were pleased to present a bursary cheque to Thurstable School following a successful application for funding for an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) requiring some specific materials.
Congratulations to Correy Andrews for his demonstration of an engine using an oxyhydrogen generator as its power source, which was Highly Commended at our 2017 Schools' Competition.
Greensward Academy launched a STEM club in 2015, aided by £500 of STEM Club Bursary seed funding from CSES. This grant enabled 110 students from years 7 and 8 to participate the 2015 UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. We are delighted to report that the group achieved 8 silver and 19 bronze awards at national level.
We awarded a further £500 in 2016 to enable the nascent STEM club to grow. This money was used to fund various projects including a hydroelectric power generator, which was presented at our 2016 Schools' Competition and won the £200 STEM Club Award.
So after two years and a total of £1200 of STEM Club Bursary funding, Greensward Academy has a thriving STEM Club that continues to grow and with which we will continue to be involved. This is an excellent example of how the STEM Club Bursary can help a school to start and evolve a STEM Club, and we hope that this encourages other schools to apply.
We awarded a £100 STEM Club Bursary to regular attendees (and winners!) at our competition Chelmer Valley High School in 2016 to relaunch their CAD/CAM club, which specialises in the development of practical hands-on skills as well as the computer-based skills needed to design the work.
The club had had to close in 2015 due to budget cuts but we were very pleased to be able to resurrect it. We wish the club every success and look forward to working with them in the future.
True to form, CVHS put in a strong showing at our 2016 Schools' Competition and scooped a handful of awards.
King Edward VI Grammar School's Young Engineers Club bagged our £200 STEM Club Award at the 2015 Schools' Competition. Following an application to our STEM Club Bursary in 2016, we were very pleased to award them £100 to help them enter two teams into the 2016 VEX Robotics championships.
The funds awarded contributed towards the cost of parts for the robots and the registration fees for the second team.
- Tendring's sumo wrestling robot
- A sixth-former's view by Annabelle (2013)
- Schools' Competition - CCHS
- Should I host the IET Faraday Challenge at my school?
- Graduate's View - Jack
- Smallpeice Residential Engineering Courses
- A Sixth-Former's View by Ollie
- A Year 10 Student's View by Joe
- Applying for an Arkwright Scholarship
- Benefits of Arkwright