Primary Engineer

Primary Bloodhound SSC resources launched

2009-02-17T14:51:00.001Z

Primary Engineer have just launched their primary Bloodhound SSC resource for schools. The interactive whiteboard resource, which runs on any whiteboard, is supplemented by pupil workbooks and an online league. Pupils are challenged to use the resources to replicate the Bloodhound SSC world land speed attempt by designing and building their own stored energy vehicle. This vehicle must complete two runs of 5m over a time period of an hour. The online league will keep competitors informed of their progress as well as supporting the teachers and pupils alike.

To be involved with this project please visit Primary Engineer at:

Primary Engineer website

Code Name ‘Red Dog’

2008-11-04T14:40:00.001Z

Primary Engineer are working in close collaboration with the Bloodhound SSC team in their attempt to break their own Land Speed Record by creating a vehicle that will travel over 1000mph.

Pupils from Harwood Meadows Primary School were invited along to the launch of the project to demonstrate some of the Design and Technology work they had done in preparation for the launch. Due to the secret nature of the project, the pupils only found out why they had been invited to London on the actual morning on their way to the Science Museum!

To support the project, Primary Engineer will be working on the education team, and have Primary and Secondary projects to support Design and Technology, Maths and Science through the Bloodhound project.
To register interest in this exciting engineering project e-mail Primary Engineer by clicking…..Here

Wing Commander Andy Green the driver of Bloodhound with pupils from
Harwood Meadows Primary School at the launch of the Bloodhound Project.

Richard Noble and Andy Green with the model of Bloodhound.

Shape the Future Directory Launch

2008-09-17T10:57:00.001+01:00

Primary Engineer exhibited at the launch of the Shape the Future Directory held at the University of Liverpool. Primary Engineer feature in the Engineering and Technology directory.

In the image below are Ian Smith the Minister for Science and Innovation (right) alongside the Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpoool, Sir Howard Newby visiting the Primary Engineer stand, and being shown Interactive Whiteboard Lessons produced as part of their portfolio of products.

During the event pupils from Darwen Vale High School a Specialist Engineering College were on hand to demonstrate the Interactive Whiteboard Resources to a number of visitors. This resource supports the primary teacher in delivering the primary design and technology curriculum using Interactive Whiteboard technologies and hands on practical activities.
For more information click HERE

Flurry of Activity

2008-08-14T11:44:00.001+01:00

Primary Engineer finished the summer term with a flurry of activity. Training was held in a number of locations across the country as the roll out of the project continues to develop at an incredible rate.

We have many courses planned for the Autumn term and these include computer control which aim to bring Primary Engineer models to life. This course has already been successfully piloted at Darwen Vale Engineering College in Lancashire, and we are very excited at adding this new discipline to our expanding portfolio of activities. For more information on this and other courses delivered as part of the Primary Engineer scheme please e-mail using the link below.

Primary Engineer Course Information

What people are saying about the training

2008-05-27T11:17:00.001+01:00

"Thank you for an excellent two days. I hope to be part of your training again in the future"
Teacher - Parrs Wood High School

"A fantastic course - friendly and innovative. Everyone had a superb time, ideas were flowing and I know the Pompey team will win the National final - even if only through enthusiasm!!"
Teacher - Portsmouth City Boys School

"Excellent course, well delivered material alongside fantastic resources with friendly, knowledgeable and coorporative course providers. Recommended."
Teacher - Portsmouth City Boys School

"One of the best courses I have attended. Thanks very much."
Teacher - Ash Manor School

"This was a very interesting and worthwhile introduction to a great opportunity of involving our family of feeder schools in Design and Technology projects. Very enjoyable and productive couple of days. Thanks you very much."
Teacher - Hitchin Boys School

"A great course, well delivered, very useful, very enjoyable. A bonus is we now have lots of examples to take back. Many thanks!."
Teacher - Church Stretton

"Loads of information given. Loads of time to make resources. Good access to equipment etc. Great fun."
Teacher - St Edmund Arrowsmith RC High School

"All aspects of course covered from novice to expert. Great relaxed delivery. Very helpful in answering all questions."
Teacher - Darwen Vale High School

Dixons City Academy

2008-05-23T15:52:00.001+01:00

Primary Engineer have just returned from a very successful two days of training at Dixons City Academy in Bradford. The training rooms at Dixons are very spacious which allowed the delegates to spread out and be extremely creative.

After a few KS1 activities it was obvious that the group were going to produce some excellent work and we weren't disappointed. The level of work and the way everybody worked together made this a very enjoyable course. Helen must be thanked for keeping everybody laughing with her off the cuff comments. She will know what we mean.

The second day began in a very civilised manner with bacon butties.The decision was made there and then that all future courses should start this way, and be backed up by a Dixons style pie and mash lunch. Thank you to all on the course, you made it fun as well as challenging.

2008 Course Dates

2008-04-04T12:51:00.002+01:00

Primary Engineer are about to embark on a training tour of the UK. Courses will be run in a number of Regional Centres across the country. These can be found on the Regional Centre map found by clicking...Regional Centre Map

If you want to gain a place on any of these courses, please
e-mail David Scurlock (National Schools' Coordinator) who will be happy to forward details of the courses and projects.
Registration forms for individual events can be found by clicking..Here

May 13th - 14th
Structures and Mechanisms
Cordeaux School - Lincolnshire.

May 21st - 22nd
Structures and Mechanisms
Bradford City Academy- West Yorkshire

June 2nd - 3rd
Structures and Mechanisms
Wilmington School - Dartford, Kent

June 5th - 6th
Structures and Mechanisms
Hadley Learning Community - Telford, Shropshire

June 9th - 10th
Control Technology
Ridgewood School, Doncaster.South Yorkshire

June 12th - 13th
Control Technology
Southlands School, Chorley, Lancashire

June 16th -17th
Structures and Mechanisms
Deantre School, Northampton. Northamptonshire

June 18th - 19th
Structures and Mechanisms
Wednesfield School, Wolverhampton. West Midlands

June 23rd - 24th
Structures and Mechanisms
Great Sankey School - Warrington, Cheshire

June 25th - 26th
Structures and Mechanisms
St Edmund Arrowsmith, Wigan, Lancashire

June 30th - 1st July
Structures and Mechanisms
Hazelwick School, Crawley, West Sussex

July 2nd - 3rd
Structures and Mechanisms
St. Saviour's & St. Olave's - Southwark, London

July 7th -8th
Structures and Mechanisms
Broadgreen School, Liverpool

July 9th - 10th
Structures and Mechanisms
Hellesdon School, Norwich, Norfolk

New Regional Centre

2008-04-03T09:32:00.002+01:00

Primary Engineer are pleased to announce that their latest Regional Centre at the JCB Worldwide Headquarters in Staffordshire has just been confirmed.

Structures and Mechanisms courses will be delivered in November 2008 and invitations to apply for places on the inaugural course will be issued shortly. As well as undertaking the Primary Engineer practical activities, course delegates will get a factory tour of JCB, so places on this November event are likely to be in great demand!

For a map of Primary Engineer Regional Centres click...here

Portsmouth Training

2008-02-29T15:35:00.003Z

The recent training course hosted by The City of Portsmouth Boys' School proved to be one of the most industrious and productive yet. All the delegates made a wide range of models and demonstrated their creativity in some very novel ways. The KS1 models were well finished and produced to a high standard. The trend continued into the KS2 work with a very keenly fought balloon challenge. Whilst the record was not broken, Dave the technician made a very valiant effort and with a little tinkering he could well take the distance record back to Portsmouth. He is pictured below with Steve Crowther from Primary Engineer.

The competition is very intense!

Working hard

Primary Engineer move on to Lincolnshire for their next training course. For full details of the training events and locations please click HERE. You can also look at the map of Regional Centres to find the nearest training centre to you.

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851

2008-02-19T10:58:00.001Z

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 are supporting the work of Primary Engineer.

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 gives fellowships and grants for top level science and industrial research, as well as industrial design. Some 25 awards are made each year which, together with a number of special grants, exceed £1.6m in value. Originally set up to stage the Great Exhibition, the Royal Commission was kept in being to
invest the Exhibition's substantial profit. It first acquired the site in South Kensington on which the three great museums, the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College and other Colleges now stand, and it continues to own and manage the freehold of most of this estate. When the development of the estate was largely complete, in 1891, the Commission then set up the education and research awards programme which runs to this day.
Details of the 1851 Royal Commission’s awards are on its website:
www.royalcommission1851.org.uk

Norfolk Training

2008-02-07T10:11:00.001Z

Primary Engineer have just returned from Norfolk after running the latest Structures and Mechanisms with Basic Electrics course at Hellesdon High School Norwich. Course delegates were made up of a mixture of Secondary, Primary and Special Schools. Once again the quality of work was of a very high standard and the UK record for the balloon race looked in jeopardy for a while, however the 16.2m distance still stands.

Keiran Mottley from City of Norwich School is shown below with his ramp climbing model that included an integral switch and pulley system that almost allowed it to climb a vertical wall!

Primary Engineer now move onto Portsmouth for the next round of training later in February.

Samuel Whitbread Training

2008-01-29T09:50:00.001Z

Primary Engineer have just completed their latest two day course at Samuel Whitbread Community College in Shefford near Bedford.
The course was attended by teachers from local Middle Schools who will now begin cascading the skills down to their feeder schools.

The quality of work produced on the course was excellent with lots of innovative ideas coming through in the models made.

The pictures below show Ian Lee and Helen Lewis from Henlow Middle School. Ian manufactured a KS2 model that climbed the test ramp as if it was stuck to it with glue, one of the best performing models we have ever seen on a training course. Helen won the prize for the best balloon powered vehicle, a hotly contested competition. She attained a distance of 12m from a single balloon.

We now move onto Norwich for the next course at Hellesdon High School a Community Technology College.

For a full list of our training events click here

National Record Holder 2007

2007-12-20T11:16:00.001Z

Diarmuid Molloy from Park High School in Stanmore finishes the year as the Primary Engineer National Champion in the lung powered vehicle class with a distance of 16.2m
Diarmuid attended the Structures and Mechanisms with Basic Electrics course at Douay Martyrs School Ickenham in November.

The previous owner of the record was Naomi Carter from St Lukes Cof E Secondary School in Southsea, Portsmouth. She attained a distance of 15.5m on the course held at the City of Portsmouth Boys School in July.

Pictured below is Diarmuid and Steve Crowther (Director of Training) with the winning vehicle.

Hazelwick Training

2007-12-20T09:17:00.001Z

Hazelwick school in West Sussex recently held a training day for three of their feeder primaries. The day concentrated on teachers making their own KS1 vehicle designs and then testing them in a mock Primary Engineer challenge activity.
Hannah Jones from Hazelwick will be rolling out the program next year for all their feeder schools and we look forward to seeing her and her regional finalists next year at the National final to be held at Hadley Learning Community in Telford.

Hannah kindly sent us some photos of the event which we have included here with her permission.

Lancashire Regional Final Video

2007-12-19T11:28:00.001Z

Please use the link below to view the video of the Primary Engineer Regional Final held at Darwen Vale Specialist Engineering College in Blackburn.

Primary Engineer would like to thank Darwen Vale's Media department for the production of this movie.

Click the link below

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Primaryengineer/PrimaryEngineerVideos/photo?authkey=TADOSzaQkl4#5145642076550022722

Primary Engineer Development Day

2007-12-18T12:06:00.001Z

INVITATION

Primary Engineer Development Day

For Primary and Secondary Teachers
January 17th 2008

As part of ongoing Professional Development Opportunities devised to support Primary Engineer project, Lancashire Education Business Partnership, Primary Engineer together with Leyland Trucks Ltd are offering you the opportunity to visit the plant, observe the engineering involved in truck design and manufacture whilst also being able to talk with the experts.

Leyland Trucks, employing 1,000 people, manufactures over 17,000 trucks per year, the company was recognised as Britain's Best Engineering Factory 2000 by Management Today in association with Cranfield School of Management, The Leyland Assembly Plant is one of Europe's most advanced truck assembly facilities. The Company's future development is focused on the use of leading edge applications of information technology in all aspects of truck design, manufacture, procurement and logistics.

The day will consist of Presentations by :-

Susan Scurlock Primary Engineer
Structures, Mechanisms and Basics Electrics’ by Leyland Truck employees who, via SETPOINT Lancashire are trained Science & Engineering Ambassadors and are working extensively with schools throughout the region.
Careers information showing the numerous opportunities available for students interested in Engineering.
Visit to the Leyland Truck design centre
Site Visit a tour of Leyland Trucks.
Resources will be available on the day.

THERE IS NO COST FOR THIS EVENT

If you are able to attend please complete the fax back form located in the scrolling window of the Primary Engineer site.

To Christine James at Lancashire Education Business Partnership on 01254 584001

National Final 2007 Results

2007-12-14T10:08:00.000Z

18 schools from Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire met at Darwen Vale Engineering College in Blackburn to compete for the coveted title of Primary Engineer National Champions 2007.

These 18 teams made it to the final from a total of 242 teams nationally involving 14,500 pupils. Next year the competition will spread across 13 regions with even more teams taking part.

The results from the final are:

KS1
1st - Richmond Hill Primary School from Yorkshire with "Milk Float"
2nd - Lower Darwen Primary School from Lancashire with "Purple Hand"
3rd - Rosedale Primary School from Yorkshire with "Fire Engine"

KS2
1st - The Redeemer Primary School from Lancashire with "Monster"
2nd - Mabs Cross Primary School from Lancashire with "Sherman"
3rd - Saltersgate Primary School from Yorkshire with "The Worlds End"

1st place prize - Promethean Voting sets.
Presented by Stephen Jury (Vice Chairman of Education)

2nd place prize - Data Harvest Control sets.
Presented by Barbara Higginbotham (UK Sales Director)

3rd place prize - EduVision interactive teaching materials for Interactive Whiteboards.
Presented by Val Simmonds (Marketing and Communications Director)

All pupils taking part also received medals, certificates of achievement and Cabaret Mechanical books as well as 'goody bags' presented by the ECITB Director of Development and Quality, Nigel Spencer.

There were also prizes for the Secondary Schools supporting the winners from KS1 and KS2. These were presented by Dr Andrew Cave the CEO of The Smallpeice Trust.

National Final 2007

2007-12-13T09:57:00.000Z

Primary Engineer recently held their National Final at Darwen Vale Engineering College in Blackburn Lancashire. (2nd December 2007)

The event was very well attended with children, proud parents and grandparents from Lancashire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire all competing for the excellent prizes on offer....not a dry eye in the house as the competition began to heat up.

The level of work displayed was amazing and the judges were bowled over at the quality of practical and design work on display.