Orford pupils help United Utilities in 'sustainable school' challenge

A group of 31 budding STEM enthusiasts from Beamont Collegiate Academy made the trip to Lingley Mere to experience some practical learning in a session lead by members of the company’s Environment, Planning and Innovation team.

The Year 10’s were given a hypothetical challenge to create a sustainable school for future pupils with a budget if £100,000.

While the brief was fictitious, it included many examples of the problems that are currently facing engineers and scientists as they plan ahead for infrastructure.

Pupils had to consider transport, energy and recreational space throughout their planning – all things that are current priorities for engineers.

They had to manage the trade-off between cost and sustainability, and also used three ‘innovation wild cards’ which allowed them to consider solutions without being restricted by budget.

Beamont pupils visit United Utilities head quarters (Image: Supplied)

An opportunity was also given for pupils to find out about potential careers with United Utilities, to help inspire them as they consider their options for the coming years.

Teams presented their final design idea’s at the end of the day, with team two taking home the winning prize for their impressive consideration of all three elements, as well as showing great teamwork throughout the day.

Elspeth Fury, Future Leader Graduate at United Utilities, helped to organise the event.

She said: “It’s really important that we as a business encourage youngsters into STEM careers and show them the exciting variety of opportunities that are available - inviting pupils along to work with our teams and put their skills to the test is a great way to do that.

“The students really got stuck into the challenge and came up with so many innovative ideas. We were all really impressed with how they tackled problems from different angles and worked together to develop their proposals.

“We’re really looking forward to hosting more of these events and inspiring youngsters to get involved with sustainability in water, energy, transport and more, whether in their daily lives or through their careers.”

Chris Hillidge, director of STEM at Beamont Collegiate Academy, added: “The continued collaboration between United Utilities and The Challenge Academy Trust is incredibly valuable to our young people.

“The opportunity to experience a STEM workplace and work, alongside professionals, on real-world engineering challenges prepares our students for their exciting futures.

“The investment made into Warrington’s young people from United Utilities is widening opportunities for our talented pupils to benefit from the fantastic apprenticeship and graduate training programs on offer in the town.”