Young people in schools across Portsmouth are discovering the wide variety of exciting engineering opportunities open to them when they experience a theatrical education performance and workshop as part of the BAE Systems Education Roadshow.  

The BAE Systems Education Programme, now in its third year has reached over 35,000 young people and visited over 300 schools to date. The Programme is aimed at pupils aged 9-12 and is designed to inspire young people about engineering and promote the wide variety of career possibilities for engineers. 

Vic Emery, managing director of BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions said: “BAE Systems has had a long history of working with schools which are a vital part of the local community where our facilities are based. As an employer in Portsmouth, I value the links with young people and their teachers and I hope that the roadshow experience will mean that more children may start to consider a career in engineering.  The Road show is designed to bring engineering alive for young people and I hope it will be a thought provoking and interesting experience, as well as helping support curriculum activity in local schools''. 

Following a visit to Mayfield School to watch the roadshow, MP for Portsmouth North, Sarah McCarthy Fry said; “It is really important to engage our young people while they are still at school so that they can become aware of the opportunities that are available to them when they leave education. “The roadshow was full of energy and the children really seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope that this will persuade them to go on to become our next generation of engineers.”

Divided into two elements, the BAE Systems Schools Road show comprises an entertaining and informative theatre presentation performed by CragRats.  The show brings to life systems engineering by exploring the processes that BAE Systems’ engineers follow to build the elaborate set used for the performance.   Its aims are to challenge stereotypes about the industry, as well as encouraging young people to be enterprising and to explore the opportunities a career in engineering can present.  

The 30-minute theatre presentation is followed by an interactive workshop. Drawing heavily on national curriculum aligned, interactive learning programmes, the workshop tasks students to design an unmanned vehicle that could be used in hypothetical disaster situations, for example rescue victims of a volcano disaster or survivors of an air crash in the Alps.   Schools will also be invited to take part in a 'Schools Challenge' competition to design a transformer type vehicle that can scale Mount Everest taking into consideration the terrain, climate and infamous atmospheric conditions of the world’s highest mountain.  

The competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK and challenges youngsters to discover more about engineering and science. For information on how to enter, schools can visit www.baesystems.com/education and click on 'Schools Challenge'.  The students will be able to check out the story and set build diary in the Restricted Zone for inspiration and ideas.

The competition closes 30 November 2007.  As part of the education programme, schools may request a visit from a BAE Systems Ambassador to help support engineering based curriculum activity within their school. The BAE Systems Science and Engineering Ambassadors scheme (SEAs) encourages employees to visit local schools up to three times a year to share their enthusiasm for engineering with young people. Ambassadors have the opportunity to go into schools to support the School Roadshow, or simply respond to requests from schools for general support.