Faraday Challenge

Faraday Challenge……..Won by Clyst Vale!

On Friday 18^th May, six bright Year 8 students entered a national engineering competition at St Lukes College – the Faraday Challenge – and rightfully claimed first place!

Joe Durston (Team Manager), Scarlet Gray & Jimmy Blakemore (Mechanical Engineers), Louis Sullivan & Caitlin Tyrell (Electrical Engineers) and Sophie Ellis (Accountant/Video Producer/racewalk tester) worked on a project to design and make an automated electro-mechanical system to provide water to Olympic Racewalkers. The device was to:

• Pour a specific volume of water into a plastic cup
• Move it 20 cm for collection by the athlete
• Be easy to pick up

The system involved a programmable microchip, an electric pump and materials selected and “bought” by the team. They were also marked on their preliminary ideas, development of ideas, manufacture, performance of the device, accountancy skills and their video diary.

Students had four hours to complete the challenge before testing, and they even finished 30 mins early!

They were up against some good teams from four other schools and the organisers told me that our students were consistently ahead of the others from the start.

Each student won a £20 Amazon voucher and we now have a nice glass trophy for our cabinet!

We are proud of our team for competing fairly and with good humour, and representing Clyst Vale so well.

Well done!

See more about the Challenge at                                                         

http://faraday.theiet.org/stem-activity-days/league-table/index.cfm