We are proud to announce that this year, a record five Trinity students in the Lower Sixth have been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. Congratulations to Oscar, Elliot, Aarav, Daniil and Caleb who are among 65 successful applicants across the London South and the South East region*.
Special congratulations to Oscar, Aarav and Elliot who were matched with a sponsor this year (RAF and BAE Systems), and will receive a cash sum to support a project during their A Levels. This year Arkwright introduced a new virtual scholarship programme for those that have successfully passed the rigorous application process but a sponsor was unable to be secured. All five students will have access to mentors in their specialist field of interest, online events, connect days and networking opportunities.
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is a highly regarded programme, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as an outstanding engineer of the future.
The rigorous application process includes an online application with teacher endorsement, aptitude test, and some students will then be selected for a 30-minute interview. The best-performing will be awarded an Arkwright Scholarship, and some matched with a sponsor. Students focus on an engineering project they have completed and must demonstrate the development process and what they have learned.
Mr Currigan, Head of Design and Technology (DT) and Arkwright lead, says, “The DT department is incredibly proud of the five students who have been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship this year. Over the last 10 years we have had two students, on average, a year who have been awarded a scholarship so it was brilliant to see additional students recognised through the new virtual scholarship. They do extremely well to successfully pass the rigorous application process and have all demonstrated the ability to be leaders in engineering. We look forward to watching them progress through their A Level studies and on to great things in the future. Well done.”
Oscar was the only student who did not take DT at GCSE, and focused on his passion and knowledge for Computer Science and Mathematics with his application. He created a user-friendly educational tool to make encryption and data security more accessible. Oscar is being sponsored by the RAF and is currently studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science A Levels. He is keen to pursue Engineering after Trinity – through further study or a degree apprenticeship. Oscar is using his knowledge of the application process to support Mr Currigan in mentoring the current Fifth Year as they prepare their own Arkwright applications.
For his application, Elliot created a modular foam glider and investigated how different wings affected flight. He demonstrated his passion for engineering in his application by sharing details of personal projects he’s been involved with – from building a soapbox go kart with his grandad as a child to a Ninja Warrior climbing wall when he was 12 years old. He also believes it’s important to demonstrate involvement in school projects – such as the Computer Science Bebras Challenges and his GCSE DT project where he developed a grip strength for climbers, inspired by Trinity Climbing Club. Elliot is being sponsored by BAE Systems and is hoping to use the money to make a guitar!
Aarav built a prototype of a robot spider, to investigate using electronics in robotics. It was a replicate of a toy he’d had from his dad when he was younger, which had sadly broken. Aarav said he really enjoyed the process and learnt a lot about electronics and how to prepare for interviews, which will be useful as he applies for university. He is currently studying Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science and Physics and is looking to study Engineering or Electronics at university. He would recommend applying for a Arkwright Scholarship as it looks great on university applications, provides useful mentoring opportunities and he thinks the cash (via RAF sponsorship) will be great to support the CanSat project he’s also working on.
Daniil developed his GCSE DT project for his Arkwright application. He made a powerful LED flashlight with a pivoting head and adjustable focus, which is useful in multiple scenarios including on bikes, people and it can also attach to walls via a magnet. Although it was quite a stressful process, it was ‘worth the time’ and he’s looking forward to the mentoring and seminars.
Caleb found the process an interesting way to explore possible careers in the future, and whether a path into engineering is right for him. Caleb studied DT GCSE and is now studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and German. For his Arkwright application, he created an AI Rubik’s Cube-solving robot, which he says was a ‘cool project’ to work on, and something interesting he can include in his personal statement for university applications.
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Trinity has continued to increase the number of students who successfully apply for an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. Last year the two students who received the prestigious award continued to develop their projects as part of their Sixth Form Diploma and Extended Project Qualification.
*The region covers Surrey, Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Berkshire and the London Boroughs of Kingston, Croydon and Sutton.
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