The William and Ellen Vinten Trust
The 7th Bury St Edmunds Engineering Experience, for 50 local students, took place at Culford school from the 24th to the 26th October 2022.
The event was led by the Smallpeice Trust and was provided exclusively for students from the local area through the support of The William and Ellen Vinten Trust.
From the 21st to the 23rd October, fifty students from the following local schools benefitted from a unique hands-on learning experience hosted at Culford School.
The three-day residential programme, led by national educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust and funded by the local William and Ellen Vinten Trust, aimed to engage the students and provide them with the opportunity to learn about careers in engineering through a major project, company visit and presentations.
Students were given a unique insight into a famous local engineering company when they visited Vitec Videocom, to see all aspects of engineering in action; in a company founded by the Vinten family.
In teams, the 13 to 15-year-old students worked on technical challenges led by engineers from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Thales. The JLR design-and-make projects included designing, building and promoting an all-terrain motor-powered vehicle. For Thales Derek Langley, the authority on airborne imaging systems; set up a challenging space rescue project with many difficult constraints and new technical concepts that had to be mastered; most importantly it taught the students the importance of rapid concept development, experimentation and adaptation in order to attempt the mission. As well as working on the design, build and test elements of the projects, the students developed life skills such as team work, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentations.
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The social programme included a reception and Gala dinner, with guests from local companies and the teachers from the schools involved.
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The after-dinner speech was given by Emma Devlin who attended the first Bury St Edmunds Engineering Experience in 2010 and now works for the national grid, having completed an Engineering degree at Cardiff University.
Students presented their projects to guests and families. Prizes were awarded to the best project teams by Jaguar Land Rover and Thales.
Two outstanding students Anna Mavroghanis & Harsh Kalshrestha, were recognised and received a prize of their choice of Smallpeice residential courses.
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The experience concluded with a careers & education buffet, a careers fair supported by a wide range of local companies and education providers, allowing students and parents to talk with local companies to appreciate the work they do and careers they offer.
David Youngman, Trustee of the Vinten Trust and lead for the event, said that he and his fellow trustees were delighted to continue to organise and fund this event for the sixth time. He added, “Our aim is to open the eyes of our local students to the amazing and abundant possibilities of a career in Engineering, this event allows us to work with other brilliant organisations to deliver a focused and fun insight that can play a major part to inspire students to consider a career in engineering. It is brilliant to work with the Smallpeice Trust, who share our local goals at a national level. Without them and the significant active involvement and support from the teams from Thales, Jaguar Land Rover and Vitec Video Com we would not be able to deliver such a unique event to the students of Bury St Edmunds who we hope to enlighten.”
Jessica Lee, Education Officer from The Smallpeice Trust commented, “It has been a pleasure to work with these students for the past 3 days. They are an incredibly hard working group of students who continually surprised us with their commitment and motivation to the projects they were working on. The course allowed the students to work with a number of role model engineers who shared their knowledge and experience with the students. I hope the course encouraged the students to see the wealth of opportunities available to them as they move on from education and into their careers. This course was funded by the William and Ellen Vinten Trust and we are indebted to them for this contribution.”
For over 50 years The Smallpeice Trust has given young people everything that they need to explore their passion for engineering, making big ideas a reality through its hands on engineering experience courses and STEM days that challenge young people to imagine the engineering feats of the future.
The Smallpeice Trust is all about inspiring young people who are daring enough to think big and imagine. It gives 11-18 year olds everything that they need to explore their passion for engineering through in-school STEM Days and engineering experience courses – all with the help of universities, charities and corporate sponsors.
For more information on Smallpeice and its work visit http://www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
For more information, please contact Clare Gerrard on clare.gerrard@smallpeicetrust.org.uk or 01926 333200
www.facebook.com/TheSmallpeiceTrust
www.twitter.com/SmallpeiceTrust
About the William and Ellen Vinten Trust
Established in 1982, the principal aim of the William and Ellen Vinten Trust is to pursue initiatives which increase the interest of school and college students in the Bury St Edmunds area in science and technology subjects. The goal is to increase the numbers of students who might consider careers in the engineering disciplines and to improve their levels of attainment
For more information please check out the following website.
https://www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk/
What have you enjoyed most about the course?
I think what I have enjoyed the most about the course was that we were constantly split into groups with people from different schools who did not know each other which meant we all were able to meet new people who normally I would never have spoken too.
For me the most enjoyable part of the course was the different amounts of teamwork that was involved and the activities that we undertook throughout the course. The fact that we were put in groups with people that we didn’t know meant that we talked to others and made new friends.
What have you learnt on the course?
I have learnt a lot about time management and also the importance of coming together as a team in order to successfully complete a project. The various projects we had to complete within a restrained amount of time meant we were able to understand more about time management and how important teamwork is when trying to complete a project. Both of these I would consider as very important skills which I have no doubt will be useful later on in life.
The project has taught me about team work and how to work properly in a team. I also learnt more about time management and how to refine and correctly test a model/prototype, in my opinion it also reinforces the important and key skills required anywhere in a job.
Has the course made you think about what you might want to do in the future?
This course has definitely helped me decided on what I want to do in the future as it has encouraged me to pursue a career in STEM and has increased my interest in engineering after learning about the large range of different careers that make up field of engineering.
The course has definitely encouraged me to follow a career path in STEM, specially it has made my passion for chemistry even further and develop my interest and understanding of science in the everyday world.
Would you recommend the course to a friend?
Yes I would definitely recommend this course, as I truly believe it was a valuable experience which allowed me to understand more about the field of engineering and learning about new possibilities, I was not aware of prior to this engineering. Even if you are not interested in engineering, I think that this course would still be helpful as it could maybe spark your interest or if not improve many valuable skills which will be useful in the future.
Yes, I would most definitely recommend this course as it had been an enjoyable experience and has also helped build a more confident personality in my character. If anyone has any opportunities to attend this course I would even encourage them to take part as I believe it will be a most unforgettable experience that will also help later on in life.
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Read More at www.jamesdysonaward.org
We are pleased to announce the next bi annual Engineering Experience funded by the Vinten Trust, provided by the Smallpeice Trust which will be held at Culford School from Monday 21st October 2019 – Wednesday 23rd October 2019.
Form more information please feel free to contact us here.
From the 23rd to the 25th October, forty seven students from the following local schools benefitted from a unique hands-on learning experience hosted at Culford School.
The three-day residential programme, led by national educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust and funded by the local William and Ellen Vinten Trust, aimed to engage the students and provide them with the opportunity to learn about careers in engineering through a major project, company visit and presentations.
Students were given a unique insight into a famous local engineering company when they visited Vitec Videocom, to see all aspects of engineering in action; in a company founded by the Vinten family.
In teams, the 13 to 15 year old students worked on technical challenges led by engineers from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Thales. The JLR design-and-make projects included designing, building and promoting an all-terrain motor-powered vehicle. For Thales Derek Langley, the authority on airborne reconnaissance systems, created a new project based on a STEM activity that he delivers at Latitude. This set up a challenging space rescue with many difficult constraints and new technical concepts that had to be mastered; most importantly it taught the students the importance of rapid concept development, experimentation and adaptation in order to attempt the mission. As well as working on the design, build and test elements of the projects, the students developed life skills such as team work, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentations.
The social programme included a reception and Gala dinner, with guests from local companies and the teachers from the schools involved. Adeline-Fleur Flemming from ARM was the inspirational guest speaker.
The experience finished with students presenting their projects to guests and families. Prizes were awarded to the best project teams by Jaguar Land Rover and Thales.
A prize was awarded by Adeline-Fleur Flemming for the best presentation.
Two outstanding students Jack Groom & Charlotte Hudson were recognised and received a prize of their choice of Smallpeice residential courses.
The closing speech was given by Emma Devlin who attended the first Bury St Edmunds Engineering Experience in 2010 and is now in her last year studying Engineering at Cardiff.
David Youngman, Trustee of the Vinten Trust and lead for the event, said that he and his fellow trustees were delighted to continue to organise and fund this event for the fifth time. He added,
“Our aim is to open the eyes of our local students to the amazing and abundant possibilities of a career in Engineering, this event allows us to work with other brilliant organisations to deliver a focused and fun insight that can play a major part in setting the direction for students that attend. It is brilliant to work with the Smallpeice Trust, who share our local goals at a national level, to encourage young students to consider a career in engineering. Without them and the significant active involvement and support from the teams from Thales, Jaguar Land Rover and Vitec Video Com we would not be able to deliver such a unique event to the students of Bury St Edmunds who we hope to inspire.”
Emma Culey, Education Officer from The Smallpeice Trust commented, “ I have been so impressed by the enthusiasm, commitment and resilience shown by the students on this course. Through this programme, the students have developed their engineering, teamworking and social skills and I hope this opportunity has opened up the students eyes to how exciting a career in engineering can be. We are extremely grateful to the William and Ellen Vinten Trust for sponsoring this course.”
Established in 1982, the principal aim of the William and Ellen Vinten Trust is to pursue initiatives which increase the interest of school and college students in the Bury St Edmunds area in science and technology subjects. The goal is to increase the numbers of students who might consider careers in the engineering disciplines and to improve their levels of attainment
Founded by Dr Cosby Smallpeice in 1966, The Smallpeice Trust has grown successfully over the past 50 years, helping thousands of young people find a successful career in a multitude of disciplines within the industry from engineering materials, marine technology and naval architecture to nanotechnology and structural engineering. Through running residential courses and STEM enrichment days, more than 50,000 students have attended a Smallpeice activity in the past year.
Vintner Trust – Nov 2017
Nick Copsey, former Ely sports personality of the year, is studying ship science at the University of Southampton.
Two years ago he began building his own National 12 class dinghy, finishing the boat last summer.
Earlier this month, he displayed his two person, two sail racing dinghy. at a national boating show, the RYA, at Alexander Palace.
His dad Gerald said: “Many visitors were very impressed with the boat and amazed to discover that it was an amateur build.
“Around 8,000 visitors came to see the various designs of dinghy.
Much has been written about Bill Vinten, who died on 8 November last year, mostly about his achievements within the lm and television industry – and quite rightly so. From a cameraman’s point of view, he was probably more in uential in the development of the television cameraman’s art and craft in its rst half-century, both in studios and OBs, than any other person. But this is far from the entire story of his life. Former GTC Secretary Dudley Darby met Bill on many occasions and writes here of the multiple sides to this extraordinarily energetic man, who retained an enviable zest for life right up until his passing at a very youthful 95.
Source: GTC’s Journal, Zerb. www.gtc.org.uk
The bi annual Engineering Experience funded by the Vinten Trust, provided by the Smallpeice Trust and supported by Jaguar Landrover and Thales was held at Culford School in October.
This years’ experience followed a similar pattern to previous years with 50 students from years 9 and 10 of local schools attending the three day event.
On the first day an icebreaker activity was held whereby students, in groups, were tasked with designing and constructing a device which had the ability to carry an egg safely to the ground from a height of about 6 metres and then deliver the egg, undamaged, onto the ground, landing it within a clearly defined area. The photographs show the winning design and the test launch and landing. Also on the first day students took advantage of a visit to Vitec Videocomm in Bury St Edmunds before spending the evening in sporting activities at the sports centre at the school.
The main purpose of the experience was for students to work together in groups on projects designing and constructing either a model vehicle or a speaker system. The photographs show various groups both during the design and construction phase and at the project presentation. The presentation is provided by each group to the other groups, staff attending the experience and parents of the students attending.
The evening of the second day was occupied by a formal dinner in Old Hall at Culford School where the students attend a reception and dinner with staff, trustees of the William & Ellen Vinten Trust and invited guests. The after dinner speaker for this event was Richard Clayton an engineer with Schlumberger. Other guests included Esther Bennett from the Institute of Physics and Kevin Stenson, Chief Executive of the Smallpeice Trust. A disco for the students followed the dinner and speeches.
Following the project presentation on the final day of the experience prizes were awarded to the team giving the best presentation and four students were selected to be awarded prizes, donated by the William & Ellen Vinten Trust and the Smallpeice Trust, for their attitude, enthusiasm and team working during the experience. The photographs show the best presentation prizewinners with Esther Bennett (IoP) and the Vinten/Smallpeice prizewinners with David Youngman (Vinten Trustee)
On the final day a careers and education buffet lunch was provided which was supported by local businesses and education providers. The photographs show some of the stands at the buffet lunch.
STUDENTS INSPIRED TO CONSIDER A CAREER IN ENGINEERING
From 8th to 10th April, forty three students from the Bury St Edmunds area benefitted from a unique hands-on learning experience hosted at Culford School. The three-day residential programme, led by national educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust and sponsored by the local William and Ellen Vinten Trust, aimed to engage the students and provide them with the opportunity to learn about careers in engineering through a series of presentations and hands-on workshops.
In teams, the 13 to 15 year old students worked on ‘real-life’ challenges led by young engineers from Jaguar Land Rover and Thales. The design-and-make projects included designing and building, a motor-powered vehicle to meet certain criteria and a set of speakers for iPods. As well as working on the design, build and test elements of the projects, the students developed life skills such as team work, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentations.
Students were also given a unique insight into the industry when they visited local company Vitec Videocom, to see engineering in action.
The social programme included a sports night and a formal dinner and disco.
Adrian Williams, Chairman of the Vinten Trust said that he and his fellow trustees were delighted to continue to sponsor this event for the third time. He added,“The Smallpeice Trust is a national charity, whose aim is to encourage youngsters to consider a career in engineering and we at the Vinten Trust share the same goal.”
Claire Fisher from The Smallpeice Trust commented, “We are extremely grateful to the William and Ellen Vinten Trust for sponsoring this course. These youngsters will take away an enormous amount of knowledge about engineering, particularly the opportunities in their local region, and will have come to appreciate just how fun and exciting a career in engineering can be.”
All Smallpeice courses are linked to the National Curriculum and are designed to improve core skills such as team building, financial management, communication and problem solving. By attending one of our courses students will gain experience of university and working life that will accelerate their personal development and their potential for greater academic achievement.
The Smallpeice Trust Engineering Experience course is part of an ongoing programme of subsidised residential courses to help young people aged 12 to 17 develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing.
Founded by Dr Cosby Smallpeice in 1966, The Trust has grown tremendously over the past 47 years, helping thousands of young people find a successful career in a multitude of disciplines within the industry from engineering materials, marine technology and naval architecture to nanotechnology and structural engineering. Through running residential courses and STEM enrichment days, 20,353 students have attended a Smallpeice activity in the past year.
Bookings are now being taken for summer residential courses. Telephone 01926 333200 for further details.
