South Yorkshire schools aim high in 2024

Primary and secondary school pupils have been taking part in the ‘Dr Pleming’s Operation Vulcan Design Project: Fostering Innovation in Education, named in honour of Dr Robert Pleming, the founding Chief Executive of the charity who was responsible for returning the iconic Avro Vulcan XH558 to flight, and the ‘Get in the Spirit’ competition, named after the aircraft which was dubbed the Spirit of Great Britain on her 50th anniversary in 2010, to reflect all that she stands for.

Marc Walters, chief executive of Vulcan to the Sky Trust said: “We are so proud to be running these projects with students from across the region. Inspiring the future is part of our charity aims and objectives and delivering aspirational projects, in partnership with the Work-wise Foundation, to engage children and young people in STEM subjects is one of the ways we achieve this.

“The Vulcan is a magnificent feat of engineering and an awe-inspiring aircraft. For our primary project schools have been creating sustainable models of Vulcan XH558 which were displayed as part of an Operation Vulcan Squadron at Get up to Speed with STEM.”

As well as the projects, VTST have attended and exhibited at Get up to Speed with STEM 2024, with young people from Doncaster UTC and the team of Vulcan volunteers supporting on the stand.

“The Dr Pleming project was attended by 259 students over two days, igniting curiosity, fostering teamwork, and providing students with the tools to turn their ideas into reality. The winners will be announced shortly and a scale model of the winning design will then be created by a team of engineers from CBE+ and DN4 Innovation,” added Marc.

John Barber, chief executive of The Work-wise Foundation said: “We are thrilled that our partnership with Vulcan to the Sky Trust enables us to deliver such thought-provoking projects for schools.

“We’ve seen lots of children from across the region engaging with the projects while learning so much about the history, engineering and design of this amazing aircraft.

“Such activities remind us of the continued importance of Vulcan XH558 and the work we do in inspiring future generations, embracing innovation, fostering creativity and supporting diversity in STEM fields.”

For more information and for details on how to take part in the projects visit work-wise.co.uk/events-and-programmes

For further information visit www.vulcantothesky.org