SIX STUDENTS from Malvern’s Dyson Perrins Academy are celebrating after achieving a silver award from the British Science Association.
It came after the group took part in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Club which saw the students compete alongside peers from Malvern College to see who could design and create the best solution to safely dispose of a mock bomb.
The device had been created by local defence technology firm QinetiQ specifically for the project.
The students’ task was to design a bomb disposal solution that either safely stopped the bomb from detonating, or detonated it safely, within the approximate detonation time of 90 seconds, while not being allowed within 20ft of the bomb itself.
While all the students involved were remarkably creative in their proposed solutions, Dr Poppy, from QinetiQ, felt Dyson Perrins’ idea, in which students programmed a drone to approach the bomb and stop it from detonating successfully within the time frame, worked the smoothest of all those put forward.
A QinetiQ spokesperson said: “We were impressed with the positivity and collaboration of the Dyson Perrins students throughout their extended project to build a Bomb Disposal System.
“All the students involved contributed to the final design, which successfully completed the brief we had set.
“They were not deterred by the technical difficulties they encountered at different stages and worked through them with advice and support from the QinetiQ team as needed.
“We are delighted that we will be continuing the partnership with the school with a new project and a new group of students this term.”
Joseph Everitt, one of the students who took part in the project, said: “The STEM Club was a great opportunity for us to gain a good insight into how engineering, mathematics and science can all intertwine to build something great.
“We started with the idea of a bomb defusal robot and built on our original ideas to construct a fully working robot specifically designed for the job at hand.
“On completing our work, as a team we then collaborated to write up everything we had done to pass the Silver Crest Award created by the British Science Association. This award is something that has real value as we can include it in future college and UCAS applications.”
