Taking part in the Flying Start Challenge

Over this term, some of our pupils have been taking part in the Flying Start Challenge with engineers from Leonardo Helicopters.

Working together in teams, pupils attended workshops where they were taught the basics of aviation and aerodynamics. These workshops culminated in each team designing and creating their own glider and competing against other schools from around the country. All the teams went to RNAS Yeovilton to take part in the Flying Start Challenge Regional Final. This was a four-part activity day including:

Fly-Off - Each group threw their glider three times in an attempt to achieve the best flight distance and direction.
Poster Presentation - Each group was questioned on their poster by a panel of judges.
Quiz - Each group took part in a quiz based on the knowledge they had acquired through the Flying Start Challenge lessons.
Engineering Activity - The teams had great fun working our how to propel a load along a rope using a balloon as the power source.

The teams also had a tour and climb-around in a Wild Cat Helipcopter and were able to chat to the engineers and pilots.

It really was a great day out. We have since heard that our team 'EAGLES' have got through to the Finals which will take place later this month. Well done boys!

Watch this video to find out all that has happened so far in this exciting STEM Challenge. (It takes a few seconds to load).

Click here to see all the photographs in our Flickr album