On Thursday, 9 January 2025 a team of six Year 8 students attended an Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Faraday Challenge. IET Faraday® Challenge Days are run by regional delivery partners across the UK with up to six teams of local school students competing at each event to find the best solution to an engineering-related challenge. This year’s challenge was in association with the Faraday Institute, but as always, the brief for these young engineers is hidden in secrecy to avoid unfair preparation and research. The teams much work together to design, build and present an innovative solution to a real-life engineering problem. The students chosen to make up the team this year were Daisy Althorpe (8S), Florence Loynes (8S), Jasmine Garner (8L), Casper Rajzer (8D), Rhun Evans-McBride (8D) and Callum Fry (8P).  Students are pictured on the left with Ms Spivey when they received a Headteacher's Award for completing the challenge. They competed against six other schools on the day and worked brilliantly as a team. It was really wonderful to see the students working together to solve a problem without teacher intervention and thinking creatively to design a unique product. They presented their ideas well and answered the very tricky scientific questions posed to them confidently in front of the other teams. In one of the closest competitions the organisers have seen, they unfortunately narrowly missed taking the top spot! A massive well done to all the students, they were brilliant representatives of the STEM learning at Springfield School.  

Participating in these types of challenges engages students' minds in real-world engineering problems, providing them with opportunities for practical application of theoretical knowledge as well as encouraging out-of-the box thinking for innovative solutions.  This enriching educational experience equips students with valuable skills and insights into the engineering field.

Dr. Payne, Teacher of Science