Pupils target design prize

A GROUP of eight girls from Royton and Crompton School have designs on sporting success.

The 12 and 13-year-olds were battling it out against five other teams in today’s regional final of a civil engineering design competition.

They will present their plans for a community sport facility — complete with an ice rink and swimming pool — to an expert panel of judges in Manchester.

The winners will then compete at the national final in London on June 27.

The Create Sport competition has been developed by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) with the firm Arup and the Engineering Development Trust.

Mark Pritchard, head of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at Royton and Crompton, said: “The pupils have come up with an octagonal sports centre. They wanted it to be an iconic design.

“They have had to think about the legacy, sustainability, how it caters for the community and how it affects local amenities.”

The pupils have worked with STEM ambassador Samantha Senior, from the Highways Agency, to plan and design their sports venue — taking into account real technical, infrastructure and sustainability concerns such as transport links, flooding, drainage, water and energy use, environmental biodiversity and safety aspects.

ICE regional director Alan Butler added: “Studying for a degree in engineering requires an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“This project is giving students a chance to gain hands-on experience of the kind of work civil engineers do day-to-day, and impressing on them the career opportunities that exist.”

Prizes include visits to major sports and engineering sites, money and signed memorabilia.