Engineering Their Way to a Brighter Future with the Smallpeice Trust

Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, March 21, 2013 --(PR.com)-- William Hulme’s Grammar School students put their science, technology, engineering and maths skills to the test in a one-day challenge set by educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust and sponsored by KYOCERA Document Solutions UK Ltd, one of the world’s leading document solutions companies. The STEM day-long event is intended to enhance each student’s aptitude for lateral thinking, design and engineering with activities designed to complement the National Curriculum.

The sixty Year 9 students focused on the Sustainable Island Project, working in small teams to develop electricity from a renewable source and help to sustain the island’s water supply. The 13 and 14 year old students designed and built a wind turbine to produce the maximum possible amount of energy. They were also challenged to design and make a dam system to prevent water leaving the island and joining the sea, avoiding wasting water and reducing the need for an extensive desalination programme. The project not only had time constraints, but also budgetary and aesthetical requirements.

Steve Trutch Service Support Manager, from KYOCERA Document Solutions, said: “We saw immediately that the whole project had synergies with KYOCERA, reflecting our innovative designs, environmentally conscious values and long-life sustainable technologies. Working with the Smallpeice Trust continues our existing educational activity with Young Enterprise and Henley Business College and our work to create an Apprentice scheme for our industry. As well as being educational, we hope to show that engineering is fun and offers a great career. It’s definitely the sort of day I would have loved to have been involved in when I was at school.”

Education Officer for The Smallpeice Trust, Megan Hubbard said, “We are most grateful to KYOCERA Document Solutions for supporting these inspirational events. The migration towards low carbon energy and a more sustainable way of life requires technological change, which is why it is important that we enthuse young people to consider engineering as a viable future career.”

The STEM Day at William Hulme’s Grammar School was run by the independent educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust, as part of an ongoing programme of courses designed to help young people learn and develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing. The STEM Day was supported by KYOCERA Document Solutions which provides document solutions to organisations across the public, private and third sectors.

Notes to editors:

Photography available from ukpr@duk.kyocera.com

About The Smallpeice Trust:

The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.

The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966 by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”

The Trust is now governed by an eminent board of non-executive trustees and members from a diverse range of engineering, industry, educational and professional bodies.

In the past year, The Smallpeice Trust has engaged with 20,353 young people through 33 different subsidised residential courses and in-school STEM Days. The Smallpeice Trust has also trained 913 teachers to enhance their delivery of STEM in the classroom.

A strong interface is maintained with industry, education and professional bodies that help to support, promote and develop the courses. Through these relationships the Trust is also able to provide a number of tailored or specialised courses.