Royal Navy Challenge OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP

 

Keswick School - Young Engineers Success!

 

Royal Navy Challenge OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP

 
Three teams from Keswick School have just returned triumphantly from this year’s Young Engineers’ Royal Navy Challenge at Portsmouth, having scooped two of the top four senior prizes, winning £500 in prizes for the club. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed undertaking this year's challenge and the trip to Portsmouth was the icing on the cake as it included a night on a converted Destroyer, a trip on a hovercraft, flying an aircraft simulator and many other hands on opportunities......and that was even before the results were announced! 


This year’s challenge was to rescue ‘The Star Gazer’, a damaged British cruise liner stranded the wrong side of a minefield. They had to build a radio controlled maritime vessel able to cut the tether lines of the mines, carefully move them to a safe area, then tow the liner to safety. . The materials used had to be at least 50% recycled or environmentally friendly. They also had to give a five minute presentation about the project and design and make team costumes. For the first time this year they were also required to undertake four individual engineering challenges to give them points to add to those for the fastest mission completion


After a selection panel of Royal Navy engineers assessed design portfolios submitted by schools across the UK in February, all three teams from Keswick School’s Young Engineers’ Club were chosen for the national finals at HMS Sultan, a Royal Navy land base in Portsmouth, on the 30th April. After a night on HMS Bristol the teams rose to the challenge. They were nervous as the Year 10 teams were in direct competition with Sixth Form teams from other schools. However, they needn’t have worried! The civilian and Navy judges were hugely impressed with the outstanding initiative, independent practical problem solving skills, creativity and cunning engineering solutions demonstrated by the Keswick School teams.
 
The team ‘The Scuba Steve's’ (Dean Robinson, Dickon Chaplin-Brice, Matthew Atkinson and Kyran Clarke), won the 'Best Design and Construction' prize with their very simple boat made from two styrofoam hulls an ice cream tub, an old wire coat hanger and a razor blade! Not only was is simple but it was also very effective. It not only achieved the fastest run time of one minute 12 seconds but also scythed through the tethers of all of the 17 mines, not just the two required! Having completed their second run they gave a demonstration of donuts to the spontaneous applause of the other competitors. Unfortunately they were piped to the post for the Best Mission Completion prize by the second fastest team by just 3 points out of 630, after the points for the hands on engineering challenges were added.
 
‘Team Orion’ (Rebecca Smith, Rachael Ball, Luke Protano and Sol Lighertwood) won the 'Best Presentation' prize and was a close runner up with the costumes which they had made for themselves depicting the constellation of Orion against a midnight blue background. Unfortunately a propeller disconnected from their motor on both runs and therefore they were unable to complete the mission.
 
The third team, 'The Flying Fishermen' (Marco Teasdale, Ted Roberts and Jareth Maloney) had water flooding their hollow hulls’ as the seals had worked loose on the journey down. On their first attempt their stern sank slowly in the water, listing to starboard, until finally they turned turtle. After working on their boat the same happened on their second qualifying run! However they were determined to complete a run even if it didn't qualify for the competition. Following further repairs the same happened again. Not deterred they worked on their boat again and at the forth attempt they cleared 2 mines and headed towards the liner slowly sinking at the stern again. However, this time, they stayed the right way up for long enough to tow the liner to safety. Only then did they succumb to the flooding and turn turtle again - but this time with mission accomplished in a fast time of 1 minute 42 seconds
 
From the start, the experience challenged the students in all aspects of Design & Technology. The opportunity to compete in the stimulating environment of the Royal Navy engineers helicopter repair centre, ‘fly’ in a hovercraft and work alongside the Navy engineer assigned to each team was unique. Missing the Overall Winner prize by just 3 points out of 630, the teams are determine to return to Portsmouth next year!