HSDC Havant Year 1 A Level Physics students Zobia Sydea, Christine Irianu and Helena Latorre have won bronze awards in this year’s Blott-Matthews Engineering Essay Challenge.
The annual challenge requires an ‘Engineering Report’ essay on one of four project subjects, detailing, analysing and assessing key engineering challenges and proposing solutions. Participants may work individually or in pairs to complete the 6,000-word report.
Geoffrey Whittington, Havant A Level Science lecturer, explains:
“Helena worked with Zobia, and Christine completed a solo entry. They worked in their free time to write an essay about the design of the Millau viaduct in France using their physics knowledge. The judges said their work was impressive and this is a great reflection on them, as I gave very little guidance. It shows the ability to research something, understand it, sustain interest over several months, and present their work well. I hope that this award may inspire some or all of them to a career in engineering.”
All three students were thrilled with their award. Helena commented:
“I feel accomplished after being rewarded for this hard-worked essay.”
Zobia noted:
“This competition allowed me to learn and gain further knowledge on such an interesting topic. We chose to write about the Millau bridge as it is one of a kind, the tallest, and I would argue the most beautiful bridge that stands. Therefore, it feels fulfilling to be recognised and rewarded for it.”
Christina continued:
“I was always interested in engineering ever since I started my BTEC course in secondary school. I saw this competition as an opportunity to get back to engineering. I mostly did this project for fun, and I didn’t even think about winning at all, so when I found out I got third place I was very surprised. Overall it was a great experience because it brought me back to my engineering course and because I had the chance to do very interesting calculations on my own.”