PUPILS across Helensburgh and Lomond became real-life engineers for a day as part of an education-based challenge competition.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Faraday Challenge Day 2018 took place in October and children from Lomond School took part along with teams from Vale of Leven Academy, Hermitage Academy, St Columba's, Larbert High School and George Herriot's.

The annual event saw teams race against the clock to solve a real-life engineering problem, putting their engineering and technological knowledge and skills to the test.

Dr Alan MacBeath, Head of Physics at Lomond School said: “As a school we have hosted the IET Faraday Challenge Day for a fifth time this year.

“We love the event because it encourages youngsters to pull together ideas and work collaboratively as a team, but most of all it gives them first-hand project management experience.”

The event aims to encourage more young people to study and consider exciting and rewarding careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by using creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.

Natalie Clerke, IET Faraday Education Manager, said: “Students who take part in the Faraday Challenge Days this year will experience working as an engineer through hands-on and practical engagement with real-life challenges relating to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

“There is huge demand for new engineers and technicians and we’re confident that this will challenge young people’s perceptions of engineers and inspire the next generation by giving them an insight into the life of a real engineer, the variety a career in engineering can offer and just how exciting and creative engineering is.”

The Faraday Challenge Days are part of a wider Faraday education programme, made up of a whole host of teaching resources and activities to inspire and attract the engineers of tomorrow. For more information on the IET and its initiatives to promote STEM subjects and careers in the classroom, visit the dedicated websites for Secondary and Primary schools.

Each team member in the winning group is awarded a prize and a trophy for their school. The top five teams from across the UK will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the national final at The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh in 2019 to compete for a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school.

Lomond School congratulated winners George Herriot's who developed a moving arm for traffic lights to allow transportation of the JWST to launch.