Ysgol Stanwell School

Engineering

Fundamentally, engineers are problem solvers. The first hand work of engineers can be experienced in all parts of a our daily lives including making a telephone call, riding a mountain bike, flying in a plane, walking across a bridge and even wearing perfume or aftershave!

Engineers solve scientific and practical problems which affect all aspects of our lives underpinning economic activity and quality of life.

As an engineering student you may be involved in design, production, or research at any point of your studies. You may even find yourself working as part of a team for a multi-national company through STEM Cymru, EESW and Go4Set.

Engineering News

• Engineering visit (26th February 2016)
• Engineering in Higher Education (27th November 2015)
• Stanwell Sustainability Day (21st October 2015)
• Engineering Club: Talent 2030 (26th March 2015)
• Engineering in Education (19th March 2015)
• Engineering Club Meccano Set Donation (19th December 2014)
• Engineering Club update (27th November 2014)

Level 2 Award

The LEVEL 2 Award in Engineering (WJEC specification) offers a unique opportunity for pupils to develop their communication and manufacturing skills whilst working to industry standards. Engineering develops pupils’ Key Skills and their capacity for innovative thinking, problem solving, communication and independence. The course offered is based upon the view that engineering is essentially a manufacturing activity involving the combination of skills with knowledge and understanding in order to design and make quality products.

Through the course pupils can develop their skills whilst being given the opportunity to:

• Analyse design briefs and produce design specifications and design solutions
• Interpreting and producing engineering drawings
• Present design solutions
• Interpreting product specifications and producing production plans
• Using tools, components and processes to safely produce an engineered product
• Investigating the use of smart materials and control technology in engineering
• Understanding the stages involved in manufacturing a product
• Investigating an engineered or manufactured product that uses modern technology

Level 3 Cambridge Technical – Extended Certificate

In Years 12 and 13 the department offers Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate in Engineering (OCR). This is an ideal course for those who are planning on furthering their studies at university in one of the many fields of engineering or other technical courses. With numerous transferable skills it provides students with an excellent foundation of knowledge and key skills.

This qualification could provide entry to employment through an apprenticeship in engineering. For example: Advanced Apprenticeships in Manufacturing Engineering, Power Engineering or Engineering Environmental Technologies. The qualification could also lead directly to employment in engineering such as electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering and design, automation, systems and control and manufacturing. As part of an academic study programme, this qualification could also form part of the learner’s basis for application to a Higher Education course in Engineering, alongside complementary subjects, such as GCEs in Maths and/or Physics or other applied qualifications.

Throughout the course the following topics are covered:

• Forces and loading on mechanical components & beams
• Geometric Properties
• Levers, pulleys, and gearing
• Compute Aided Design
• Dynamic systems & Kinematics
• Principles of electric and electronic engineering
• Fluid Mechanics
• Properties of materials
• Thermal Physics

Extra-Curricular

We provide an array of Extra-Curricular activities including Engineering Club, Go4Set and Engineering in Education Scheme – Wales.

‘Stanbots’ – Engineering Club

Each week the Engineering club has fun exploring the vast world of engineering through exciting activities. They investigate different engineering principles, create designs, and develop prototypes. Activities include using Meccano Kits (Sponsored by Laing o’Rourke), electrical circuit simulators (Sponsored by Wales and West Utilities) and numerous other projects kits (Sponsored by Royal Institute of Engineering).

Two students enjoying Engineering club

Go4Set

Members of Year 9 are given the opportunity to work with engineers from Arup on a project where they design and present a concept for an environmentally friendly classroom. Previous successes have included ‘The pupils choice award’.

Engineering in Education Scheme – Wales

During Year 12 students have the opportunity to work with an engineering company on a ‘real-life’ problem. The department has been involved with the scheme for over 15 years with great success winning awards such as ‘Best Product’, ‘Best consideration of Environmental Issues’, and ‘Best consideration of Health & Safety Issues’. We’ve worked with many multi-national companies, including, Robert McAlpine, RWE nPower, and Lion Laboratories.

EESW also provides students the opportunity to achieve a Gold level Crest Award with the British Science Association.