The sky’s the limit as Collyer’s hosts final of glider competition
The college’s new Duckering Hall was filled with finalists who presented their designs to Dave Emsley and Matt Trenholme, professionals from the field of engineering, who kindly gave up their time to judge the competition.
Collyer’s physics teacher and competition organiser, Matt Horncastle explained: “Students were given the task of designing and building a glider that has the best range and accuracy possible. They were given basic materials and asked to do their own research to decide how to make the most aerodynamic glider.”
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Hide AdThe gliders were marked out of ten for how well they flew and the groups also had to present their designs to each of the judges.
Collyer’s Head of Faculty for Mathematics and Science, Joe Brock said: “This is a great competition that Matt has set up, as it gives the students the opportunity to develop practical and presentational skills.
“In addition, the groups demonstrated analytical zeal when studying their flight data information, which certainly focussed minds on the need for incremental development.
The competition was tough with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place all coming within a few decimal places of each other! However, students Dale Williams, Henry Haste and Jordan Lee pipped the other teams to the post with a brilliant design. The proud winners were then thrilled to be awarded with a remote-controlled quad-copter.
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Hide AdCollyer’s Vice Principal Steve Nicholls was thrilled: “One of the aims of the project was to give students the opportunity to work as part of a team, preparing them for studying engineering or similar subjects at university. I’m delighted that this has clearly been achieved. Well done to all of the competitors – for them, the sky’s the limit!”
Collyer’s Principal Dr Jackie Johnston was impressed: “We have a strong faculty for Mathematics and Science and it is fantastic to see these talented students show such enthusiasm for their work. The glider designs were extremely innovative! Thanks are certainly due to Matt, his colleagues and our judges for making today possible.”
Report and picture by Izzy Watson.