Essex schools are benefiting from a schools' outreach initiative being offered by QinetiQ at Ministry of Defence, Shoeburyness. Projectile Power offers students who are interested in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) a chance to spend the day at the weapons testing Range exploring projectile science.
QinetiQ mentors support the day helping students in learning how theories are applied by the experts in the everyday work of the Range. After a chat about career opportunities through QinetiQ Apprenticeship and Graduate programmes, the students are treated to a rare visit to the main large calibre gun battery where they can get up close to an in-service gun and find out about the type of munitions that are fired and how the state-of-the-art instrumentation captures and records the performance of the projectiles.
In the afternoon, the students take part in the Trebuchet Challenge. Working in small teams, they are assigned to their very own trebuchet, an ancient siege weapon. Under the watchful eye of QinetiQ mentors, they have the opportunity to experiment with their machines to find optimum performance before the final team challenge to knock down as many targets as possible with limited ammunition.
Nicki Weller, Careers Advisor and Work Related Learning Co-ordinator said: “Westcliff High School for Boys was delighted to be invited by QinetiQ to visit MoD Shoeburyness with a selected group of Year 10 students, who were specifically interested in STEM subjects. The day offered practical, visual and interactive sessions, which engaged the boys consistently. It was a professional, polished and well thought out event that was received enthusiastically and reinforced the popularity of STEM subjects at our school”.
Craig, 15, one of the students that visited with Stewards Academy, Harlow said: “The Treb Challenge was my favourite part of the day. I really enjoyed working in a team and learning how these weapons were used in the past, I really enjoyed my visit and would encourage my friends to come if they get the chance”.
If you are interested in booking a Range visit for your school, please contact QQSHBEnquiries@qinetiq.com There is a maximum of 16 students per visit and we recommend Year 9 upwards with an interest in STEM studies.