Canterbury Christ Church University Supports Kent Teachers and Students Build Confidence in STEM

A celebration event has been held as the culmination of the Primary Engineer Vehicle Programme, run in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University.

This is the fourth year running that the University has partnered with Primary Engineer and provided funding for 12 schools in Kent.

The Primary Engineer Programmes allow UK Primary Schools to take part in a practical project, building the confidence of teachers delivering STEM-based classroom activities that focus on engineering, and raise the aspirations of pupils. Two teachers are trained per school and provided with comprehensive classroom resources, curriculum mapping, links to engineers and enough kit and tools for 60 pupils.

The Primary Engineer Programme also provides meaningful links between engineering and education, enabling teachers to deliver engaging, rail-oriented engineering projects to pupils in the classroom. Engineering and technology professionals enhance both teachers and pupils’ learning by raising awareness of the breadth of opportunities and careers that the world of engineering offers.

Mrs Spurgin at St Peter-in-Thanet CofE Junior School said: 

“The Primary Engineer project has been a brilliant experience for our children. It’s opened their eyes to engineering in such a fun, practical way and boosted their problem-solving skills, teamwork and resilience.

“The children loved being able to take an idea from a simple sketch right through to a finished car that actually moved – they were completely absorbed in every stage. The celebration event was a wonderful chance for them to share their hard work, see what other schools had created and feel genuinely proud of what they’d achieved.

“It’s definitely sparked a new interest in engineering and design for many of them, which is exactly what we’d hoped for.”

At the celebration event, engineering professionals tested and judged the builds and interviewed the children who were excited to explain the research they had carried out, the aspects of the project they liked best, and the engineering knowledge they had acquired through the process. The day culminated with awards being presented by the University to the winning teams.

Schools that took part include: 

• Parkside Community Primary School
• Priory Fields School
• Warden House Primary School
• St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, Margate
• St Peter-in-Thanet CofE Junior School
• Pilgrims’ Way Primary School
• Whitfield Aspen School
• Folkestone, St Peter’s Church of England Primary School
• Charing Church of England Primary School
• Hythe Bay CofE Primary School
• White Cliffs Primary and Nursery School
• Cliftonville Primary School

Children involved in the day spoke about their experiences:

“I liked designing the car and then seeing it actually work – it made me feel like a real engineer!”

“My favourite part was trying to get our car to go in a straight line and then watching it zoom up the ramp. It was so cool when it didn’t fall off!”

“I loved going to the celebration day and seeing what other schools had made. It was so exciting when our car won a prize!”