Every year we take a team of Design & Technology students to compete in the annual Rotary Technology Tournament. These nationwide tournaments are designed to be a challenging and enjoyable way for young people to enrich their STEM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), and hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.
Having had some success in the past, this year we decided to up our game with a crack team of fabulous students: Lucy, Alfie , Jake , Ewan ,Cameron , Scarlett , Charlie , Warren ,James , Olly, Magda, Harley , Lydia , Joseph , Evie , Molly, accompanied by Mrs Coupland-Buckley.
The competition task is kept secret until you arrive, and there was much consternation for the Wensleydale team when the task was announced – it involved motors which was the one thing Mrs Coupland-Buckley admitted they hadn’t tackled. Teams had to construct a motorised vehicle that would need to cross a string river. The vehicle had to have a switching mechanism and be able to release a package into the river at a set point. The teams also had to write a development plan, devise a logo and create a presentation.
Lead by Year 10’s Molly Fagan, the team thought it through, came up with their design and got to work. Boosted by their highly competitive spirit, our team not only rose to the challenge but achieved our best ever results, beating other local schools! Our Beginner teams came 4th and 7th out of 22 groups, and our Intermediate teams came 2nd and 3rd out of 16 groups.
Huge congratulations to all involved – we couldn’t be prouder.
