Secondary school pupils in the five boroughs surrounding Heathrow are to be given experience of engineering thanks to a challenge run by the airport.
The half-day ‘Secondary School Challenge’ involves building a mini version of the Terminal 5 Track Transit System (TTS) – the driverless electric train that shuttles passengers to their boarding gates.
Heathrow’s aim is to give year 8 pupils insights into the wide variety of engineering careers and the skills and knowledge required for them, helping to boost the UK’s engineering prospects.
Harsha Val, Heathrow’s Engineering Training and Competency Leader, says: “The aim of the challenge is to introduce pupils to engineering in a fun, interactive, relevant way which we hope will ignite an interest for studying STEM1 subjects in the future. Each session gives us an opportunity to explain the benefits of careers in engineering and also makes it clear to pupils the requirements and hard work needed to get into Heathrow’s engineering apprenticeship scheme.”
Nigel Milton, Heathrow Policy Director, says: “There is a wide range of exciting engineering opportunities at Heathrow. We want to ensure the talented young people on our doorstep are aware of these careers and inspired to choose the STEM subjects needed to succeed in them.”
