The Institute of Engineering and Technology

Faraday Engineering Challenge

Westcliff High School for Boys, Westcliff, Essex

Thursday 24th January 2013

Year 8 Team

Westcliff High School for Boys invited us and four other schools to take part in the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) sponsored Faraday Engineering Challenge at their school. 

The challenge was based around an emergency scenario : two villages cut off by flooding with a mountain in between. All communication had been lost. There were no mobile phones or electricity. Each school’s Year 8 team’s brief was to design and make a communication device using light bulbs and batteries. They also were expected to invent a code which was more efficient than Morse Code. Each prototype must be completed on time and within budget.

At the end of the day each team gave a presentation about how they designed and built their prototype then demonstrated that it worked by sending a secret message across the room.

The best prototype, invented by the King Edwards Grammar School team, won each team member a £20 amazon voucher and a glass IET Faraday Challenge Trophy to take back to their school’s trophy cabinet. 

Our team members were: Becky Dodd 8CH, Molly Galloway 8LM, Bethan Rumsey 8LM, Bradley Leathers 8TMA, Shiv Sharma 8GM and Robert Kelly 8JK.

Molly Galloway 8LM: ‘It was great fun. I enjoyed designing, making and testing our prototype called SAM, Stewards Academy Messenger with the rest of our team. It was also interesting competing against other schools.’