UTC Oxfordshire
Partnership Update Summer 2017
UTC Oxfordshire
Email: admin@utcoxfordshire.org.uk
Website: www.utcoxfordshire.org.uk
Location: UTC Oxfordshire, Greenwood Way, Harwell, Didcot, OX11 6BZ, United Kingdom
Phone: 01235 391587
Facebook: facebook.com/utcoxfordshire
Twitter: @utc_oxfordshire
Welcome from the Principal
Dear all,
Our second partnership newsletter gives a great feel for the vibrancy of our summer term here at UTC Oxfordshire.
There have been so many positive opportunities and achievements, many of which have only been made possible by the consistent input and contributions from many of our local partners and contacts - many thanks to all of you who have played a part in that.
As we look towards our first public examination results, we are delighted by the outstanding destinations that so many of our students will be moving on to - you can see some of their stories on our website and we are looking forward to celebrating with them as their places are confirmed after the results are out!
Owain Johns
Principal
VISITS
Women into Engineering
23rd June was International Women into Engineering day and 12 female UTC Oxfordshire students were delighted to be invited to a full behind-the-scenes tour of a Formula One factory as they visited Williams Advanced Engineering.
The students learned how a Formula One car is built and put together on-site, from the company’s composites department all the way to the race bay where this year’s car is stored between races. This was followed by a tour of the Williams Museum, which contains a selection of the most iconic cars from the firm’s 40-year history, including some of their championship winning cars. The trip finished with a Q & A session with engineers and apprentices.
Year 13 student Tiffany Cox has already secured an apprenticeship at Williams, while three more of our students have been on extended work placements in composites and 3D printing.
UTC Oxfordshire also works closely with BMW who have recently announced their Girls Go Technical programme, which includes a dedicated week of engineering work experience at October half term. Currently all of our sixth form students are guaranteed a week of work experience at the Mini plant in Oxford.
The Jenner Institute
Oxford Brookes
Rutherford Appleton Laboratories
A recent Year 12 trip to the MRC Festival of Medical Research included activities such as extracting DNA from strawberries, crystallising a protein, using Lego to model how x-ray tomography works, and eating liquid-nitrogen-produced ice cream.
The day also included three mini tours: one looking at different laser microscopes and learning about how Moiré fringes are used to improve resolution; a second giving the students a chance to use the scanning electron microscope; and a third to the beamlines at Diamond, hearing about research using x-ray scattering techniques.
There was plenty of time available to chat to the scientists and there were some very interesting conversations about future career paths.
Projects and Talks
Crown Packaging Project
Electrification
Building the Harwell Bypass
Alan Jones from Galliford Try talked to a whole school meeting about the construction of the Harwell bypass which will run from the Didcot end of Harwell village alongside the A34 to the A417 near the Kingswell Hotel.
The Seat of Learning
Year 12 product design students studied the work of Danish Designer Arne Jacobsen and were tasked with re-creating his classic ‘No. 7’ chair as part of their A-level. This was no mean task without the use of steam or a hydraulic press but with gumption, elbow grease and team work they managed to produce useable chairs that were truly beautiful even before they were decorated; a feat that Arne himself would have approved of.
The chairs are now on display in school.
ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Engineering Awards
These awards are open to all schools in Oxfordshire. There were 17 finalists, four of whom were from UTC Oxfordshire. We are very proud of all four students, especially Emily from Year 10 who won the 'Best Engineer' award in the 14-16 category, and Zoe who won the 'Most Improved Engineer' award for the 16-18 category. And contacts made at the awards are proving very useful in terms of future employer engagement, so this was definitely a 'win win'!
Young Writers
Well done to Max , Boston, James, Lewis and Erik in Year 10 for having their mini sagas selected for publication in an anthology! They are also in the running for the overall prizes. Great work.
Local Links
Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast
Rotary Pupil of the Term
The latest winner of the Didcot Rotary Club 'Pupil of the Term' award was Luke Nobes.
Luke was nominated for this award because of his determination and resilience over the last two academic years, which have been extremely challenging. As a school we are very proud of him.
Curriculum
Broughton Castle
Over 30 GCSE History students visited Broughton Castle (a medieval fortified and moated house near Banbury) which they have been studying. The Fiennes family still live in the house (they've owned it since 1447!), which was opened specially for the UTC students. Some of the house is over 700 years old and is in very good condition, despite some damage in the Civil War. If the house looks familiar, it is because the it has been used in period films and dramas such as Wolf Hall and Shakespeare in Love.