On 9th July, DGS continued its commitment to promoting engineering, with the help of the Smallpeice Trust and the RAF. Sixty Year 9 students spent the day learning about engineering in the context of flight and aircraft, as well as finding out about careers in engineering.

Students worked in teams to build prototype gliders and then, with the support of the Smallpiece Trust and RAF engineers, designed and built their own model aircraft, fitted with a propeller powered by a super capacitor. Each team gave a brief presentation about their design and launched their aircraft on a test flight to see which could travel the furthest.

Teams were assessed on the weight of their plane, design, materials used, distance flown, presentation and teamwork throughout the day. The presenters were very impressed with everyone’s work but after adding up all the points in the different categories first place was awarded to Team Dancing Darts, who were presented with prizes by Paula Cil from RAF Benson.

Well done to all the Year 9 students for your enthusiasm and participation throughout the day. We are grateful to the Smallpeice Trust and to the RAF for providing this excellent event for us.