This in from Laura on behalf of Red Funnel. Ed
The Isle of Wight ferry company has taken part in the Go4Set Mentoring Scheme, which links year 8 and 9 pupils with companies and universities to offer a 10-week science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) experience.
Staff from Red Funnel worked with pupils at the following schools over the summer to help them take part in Go4Set’s countywide competition ‘My School is an Island’:
- Sandown Academy, Isle of Wight (mentored by deck officers Matthew Parker and Jodi Le Breton)
- Quilley School of Engineering, Eastleigh (mentored by deck officer David Faulds)
Sandown entry ‘most innovative’
There was victory for the team from Sandown Academy as they picked up the prize for the most innovative entry in the competition.
‘My School is an Island’ saw youngsters brainstorm and tackle the issues they would face, for example transport and resources, if their school were an island.
Matthew Parker, a First Officer with Red Funnel said:
“As we operate 30,000 sailings each year to and from the Isle of Wight we were in a unique position to be able to regale the children with some real-life examples. We were really impressed by their ideas and there are definitely some future engineering stars among them.”
Shirley Anderson, HR director at Red Funnel, said:
“As a local business that relies on engineers, we were delighted to donate our time to show the next generation how rewarding a career in science and engineering can be. We hope the project will encourage even more young people on the Isle of Wight and the mainland to study STEM subjects.”
Image: Matthew Parker and Jodi Le Breton from Red Funnel with the winning team from Sandown Academy
