Mr Armshaw, Design Faculty:

On Wednesday 28 June 2023, seventeen Deer Park pupils in (new) Year 9 and (new) Year 10 took part in a Technology Tournament at Cirencester College. They were competing against teams from Farmor’s and Sir William Romney’s schools in an all-day Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) event organised and run by the Rotary Club of Cirencester.

In teams of four or five, our two Key Stage 3 teams and two Key Stage 4 teams were given the challenging task of designing and building a coin-sorting device which could sort 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins into separate piles. They were provided with a small collection of components and materials with which to make a prototype.

In addition, each team was to submit a small portfolio of work, including drawings and annotations, outlining their creative process and design thinking.

Much fun was had and our pupils did the school proud, partaking wholeheartedly in the task. They exhibited teamwork, a wonderful competitive spirit and real ingenuity. Ideas were scribbled down, evaluated and modified, and a variety of complex prototypes began to take shape as the day progressed.

One of our pupils reflected: ‘From this experience, I felt that I have learnt that perseverance is the key to success and that I can work very well in a team. I have also learnt that there is more than one way to make something that does the job.’

Each team’s output was judged against a variety of criteria and there were prizes for each Key Stage. One of our Key Stage 3 teams - Giovanna, Kimi, Hazel, Izzy and Lucy - won in their category! Well done to them and well done to everyone who took part. It was a great day and a wonderful learning experience.