Michael Fabricant today (25th April 2018) met officers and men of the Royal Navy and was met with a challenge:  “Can a team from southern Staffordshire design a vessel that can rescue 1,000 people from the sea?”

Michael explains  “Students, individually or in small teams, should be allowed one month to complete the challenge, and must then submit an A3 poster with their team’s design and description.  There will be three age groups in the competition:  students from Primary, Secondary, and Further year groups to allow for the varying levels of detail expected at different ages.  The best three designs from each Year Group will all win iPads for the school or college they represent.”

Students should come up with innovative designs and some of the matters to be considered are:

How can your design get quickly to the stranded people?

How can your design get people swiftly from the water?

How big does your design need to be to hold 1000 people?

What features have you designed that will help rescue 1000 people?

How will your design take care of the rescued people?

What materials will you need to construct your idea?

Michael adds:  “Students and their teachers can download an information pack from www.uknest.org. And the great thing is that this design challenge aligns with the National Curriculum Key Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 for both Science and for Design and Technology.  You’ve got ‘til December 1st to get your design in.  It would be great if a school from our area won!”

Photograph shows Michael Fabricant with Engineering Technician Matthew Jeacock (left) and Engineering Technician Dave Cohen (right) both from HMS Westminster, a Type 23 Royal Navy Frigate.