Catapulting Kids Further into technology.
Posted: 30/11/2009
The Tuxford Consortium’s new engineering facilities are going to be used to help a World Motorcycle Sidecar Champion team win further success next season.
The Reach for the Sky project helped fund an aeroplane and car for students to enjoy a hands on experience in learning.
Now World Motorcycle Sidecar champions, Ben and Tom Birchall, have asked Tuxford School to help them design new aerodynamic bike farings for their Formula One bike which they intend to race next year.
The students will be redesigning various parts of the Birchall’s motorcycle with a view to improving their performance on the track. One group will be looking at the fairing and the aerodynamics of the undertray, some will be developing their Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing skills to produce realistic prototypes and they will be taught modern composite manufacturing techniques so that they can produce engineered products that can be used by Ben and Tom.
Catapulting Kids Further! purchases included a used car and specialist tools will be available as a mobile resource. Engineering simulation software and server providing a virtual learning environment within a mobile ICT facility, will also give access to continual pictures and learning materials.
The project is being headed by Tuxford School in partnership with North Nottinghamshire College, Valley Technology School, Elizabethan High School, Portland School, Retford Oaks High School, Serlby Park School and Worksop and Retford post-16 centres, making achievement and a career in Aerospace Engineering a reality.
Gareth Nadin, Head of Design and Technology Faculty at Tuxford School, and Bassetlaw 14 -19 Consortium Engineering Specialist Diploma Line Lead said: “We are setting the students an extremely challenging task. This has been hard work to set up, but I am convinced that the outcomes that the students produce will be something special. We are working with materials and processes that are common in motorsport and aerospace and I can’t think of a better way of motivating students than this.
“I love teaching the Engineering Diploma. As it is timetabled for a whole day, it allows us to enrich the educational experiences of the class without disrupting the curriculum. We can really get to grips with the subject. For example we are teaching the students how to work with carbon fibre and Kevlar. This would have been unheard of in the recent past.”