More than 80 pupils and 15 apprentices and graduate engineers attended this year’s Design & Make Challenge

The UK’s largest independent STEM event crowned four major winners last week in a competition that attracted more than 80 pupils keen to get an insight into engineering. Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Great Wyrley Academy, John Taylor High School, and Lawrence Sheriff High School took the prizes at the Design & Make Challenge 2023, the largest one ever held by the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN).

The Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students split up into teams of four to design, test and build an aircraft. Using just a box of simple materials and a selection of hand tools, they had to work together to create a machine that could be launched from a pair of purpose-built air cannons.

Held with WMG at the University of Warwick, the Challenge pitted sixteen schools against each other to see whose design could go the furthest, with Great Wyrley Academy’s model surpassing the organisers’ expectations by travelling 16 metres to the wall at the end of the test area, earning them the ‘efficiency’ title.

John Taylor and Lawrence Sheriff won the ‘manufacturing’ and ‘innovation’ titles for ease of manufacture and the uniqueness of their designs respectively, with Bishop Vesey’s securing the ‘communications’ prize for the way they told the story of the day.

Austin Owens, managing director at Grove Design (Pembridge) and co-chair of the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), said: “The latter was a real coup after the ambitious pupils managed to secure a mock TV interview with Sky business correspondent Paul Kelso as part of their winning entry. This was the fourth year of the Design & Make Challenge and our biggest yet – in fact, we more than doubled the size of the event held in 2022.”

“We all have a bigger role to play in getting young people excited about possible careers in science and engineering, especially if we are going to achieve what we want to as an industry and take advantage of the new opportunities in reshoring and cleaner mobility.”

Opportunities for young people
He continued: “The MAN Group saw this coming, and this is why we created the event, using our own time and money. We now need the rest of the sector to join us and create more opportunities for young people to engage with engineering. There is an appetite there from young people and the schools to do more, so we have to work on what we are going to provide next.”

Great Wyrley, John Taylor and Lawrence Sheriff each received a 3-D printer as part of their prize package, which was sponsored by 3DPrint UK. These will be taken back to each of the schools and used to develop additive manufacturing (AM) skills.

Pupils were able to tap into the expertise of MAN apprentices and WMG engineers during the 8hr challenge, with the organisers offering the opportunity for school visits, work experience and placements. There was also a major announcement on the day that 17 apprenticeship opportunities are currently available across the seven MAN sub-contract manufacturers and the specialist engineering design agency.

Dr Mark Swift, director of SME Engagement at WMG at the University of Warwick, concluded: “We are delighted to work closely with MAN in its efforts to provide real-world engineering experience to young people. It is important that the manufacturing industry engages with future engineers, to encourage, inspire and lead us into a prosperous future together. This is exactly what the Design & Make Challenge aims to do.”

Formed in 2006, MAN is made up of Alucast, Brandauer, Grove Design (Pembridge), James Lister & Sons, KimberMills International, Muller Holdings, Nemco and PP Control & Automation. The seven sub-contract manufacturers and specialist engineering design agency form a unique global collective that works together to share best practice and secure contracts for UK industry. Together, the group employs over 1,000 people, operates across 12 factories and exports to more than 35 different countries.