Inverness and Ross-shire secondary pupils build bridges.
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of CITB-Construction Skills
Pupils from secondary schools throughout Inverness and Ross-shire have been competing against each other in a design and bridge building challenge held at Inverness College.
The 2013 ‘Bridge Building Challenge’, jointly supported by CITB-Construction Skills, Highland Construction Training Group and Inverness College, saw 20 second year pupils from Inverness Royal Academy, Tain Royal Academy, Alness Academy, Inverness High School and Charleston Academy battle it out building bridges using only wood and glue.
The challenge set was for the pupils to design and build a 1.1m-span wooden bridge which could carry the maximum weight for the minimum cost. After the pupils used different lengths and sizes of wood and glue guns during the construction process, the bridges were tested to destruction by hanging weights from them to find the overall winner.
The challenge provided an opportunity for the teams of four pupils from each school to gain an insight into practical engineering and construction. Schools were supplied with information on what they had to build before the event and the prior preparation led to some fierce competition on the day.
Prizes were awarded in the following three categories:
The event also incorporated problem solving, maths and team building and encouraged pupils to consider a career in the construction industry.
Debbie Borthwick, construction careers adviser at CITB-ConstructionSkills, said: “The bridge building challenge was great fun, with the schools clearly putting in a lot of preparation beforehand which helped to bring out their competitive spirit on the day. I look forward to welcoming the teams back next year to defend their titles.
“By holding these types of events we hope to attract young people into the construction industry in the future. CITB-Construction-Skills deliver gold standard apprenticeships that meet the needs of a hi-tech, world class industry with outstanding career prospects. We are positive that young people benefit immensely from the skills they learn in our construction apprenticeships to then enable them to enjoy a fulfilling career in the industry.”
For more information on CITB-Construction Skills, visit www.citb.co.uk
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