MORE than 200 Cornish schoolgirls had their eyes opened to the possibilities that engineering could hold for them last week as they headed to Truro High School to celebrate International Women in Engineering day.
Mixing music, welding with chocolate, constructing wind turbines and testing model boats in the school swimming pool were just some of the hands-on activities on offer at the day-long event, designed to excite their interest in engineering as a career.
The UK has one of the lowest percentages of female engineering professionals in Europe at just over 12 per cent. With the aim of redressing this imbalance, every year Truro High School joins the many thousands celebrating International Women in Engineering Day worldwide in order to raise awareness of women in the engineering industry and the career opportunities available.
Head of STEM, Jon Dean said: “It was absolutely brilliant to see so many girls getting to try out so many different types of engineering. There are a huge number of opportunities for girls to get into the industry so it’s really important to give them the chance to experience what day to day life is like at an engineering firm.”
To help girls discover the many opportunities on offer, representatives from a number of different businesses and organisations were on hand to chat about their own experiences and demonstrate what their jobs involved.
The companies involved were Whiskerstay, the University of Exeter, Watson Marlow, the Roseland Observatory, Ward Williams Associates, the Institution of Civil Engineers, Kier Construction, the Army, Allen & Heath, Cornwall College, RNAS Culdrose, Falmouth Marine School, Camborne School of Mines, Truro & Penwith College, 3D Kernow CIC, Cornwall Software, Pendennis Shipyard, Corserv Ltd, SERCO, Cornwall Council, North Coast Consulting and Babcock.
A visiting student said: “Before this trip, I had not considered a career in engineering. Today I have learnt about different pathways into engineering and the type of skills that are required. I think that I would really enjoy a job in engineering.”
As well as celebrating the achievements of women in engineering today, this year’s event marks 100 years since the founding of the Women's Engineering Society in the UK.
It has also been a landmark year for engineering at Truro High School. Following the launch of its bespoke programme for aspiring engineers last September, this spring the school received the news that it has become the first in the country to be recognised as an official motorsports club by Motorsport UK. A first in UK automotive history, this enables the school’s students to be involved in high-profile events hosted by the organisation and even go all the way to operating trackside at international Formula 1 events.
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