Sixth form biology students from Ron Dearing UTC put their scientific knowledge into action on a three-day residential visit to North Yorkshire.

Six Year 13 students travelled to Cranedale Educational Residential Field Studies Centre in Malton to complete a variety of activities linked to the ecology aspects of their A-level biology course and core practical work.

They learnt and conducted a range of scientific techniques, such as sampling a stream for different invertebrates, sampling areas of Dalby Forest and examining “areas of succession”, looking at the way the environment changes over time.

They also completed beach field work at Filey and investigated desiccated seaweed, barnacles and other organisms, and visited a farm to look at energy transfers involved in intensive farming, such as mass meat production from large pig farms.

Students George Hodgson, Will Jennison, James Coulson and Haitam Amudi, all 18, and Kate Hickingbottom and Ebony Revell, both 17, took part in the visit.

Kate said: “We all loved the trip and it gave us a great insight into how our classroom studies apply to real life.

“We enjoyed exploring lots of different environments such as rocky shores and lakes. Our favourite was Dalby Forest, where we had a picnic and used specialist equipment to investigate the stages of succession.

“All the tutors were really friendly and knowledgeable, helping us to identify any species we found and making our time fun.”

Sarah Buchan, Lead Practitioner for Biology at Ron Dearing UTC, said: “It was wet, windy and fun all at the same time, and a truly invaluable experience.

“You can teach the theory in the classroom, but unless you put the techniques into practise you can’t understand the methods and analysis and how they work.

“An essential part of the course is practical work and it was also a good opportunity to look at specialist equipment, which wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t on site.

“The impact that businesses have on the environment is becoming increasingly important too. This opportunity has allowed students to get hands-on experience of how this impact can be measured in order to maintain biodiversity.

“We weren’t able to run the trip last year because of Covid restrictions, so it’s great they’ve had the opportunity now and they haven’t missed out. Everyone really enjoyed it.”

Ron Dearing UTC students are preparing to go head-to-head with peers across the region and beyond in a competition inspired by Formula 1.

The F1 in Schools challenge is the world’s largest Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competition with more than a million schoolchildren in 40 countries taking part every year.

Each team designs and manufactures a miniature car based on the official F1 model using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM). The cars are powered using CO₂ cartridges and are attached to a 25-metre track by a nylon wire and raced, with teams competing at regional, national and international level, depending on their success.

This is the first time Ron Dearing UTC students have entered the competition, with 17 Year 10 and Year 12 students from the employer-led school taking part in four teams. The participants have created logos, designed their uniforms and planned social media and marketing strategies to promote themselves before designing and manufacturing their cars.

They also have to gain sponsorship from businesses, give a presentation on their work to a panel of expert judges from F1, manufacturing and engineering backgrounds, and create a pit display stand to promote their team.

Speed is a major factor in determining winning teams, as well as other criteria such as timing, innovative thinking and the specification of each team’s car.

The students recently visited Porsche Centre Hull at the Bridgehead business park in Hessle for a behind-the-scenes tour of the workshop, showroom, valet bay and state-of-the-art technology used to give customers the best possible service. They also met the Porsche Centre team, including staff who shared their career journeys with the students.

Simon Edwards, Teacher of Engineering at Ron Dearing UTC, who is leading the challenge on behalf of the school, is no stranger to success in F1 in Schools.

He previously taught in the Bahamas and United States and his students won the state championship of the competition in Illinois in 2018 and 2019, before winning the American national title last year.

Simon said: “Teamwork, delegation and accountability play a huge part in this challenge. It’s a great opportunity for the team members to grow in confidence, as they speak to so many people at various levels in industry throughout the challenge, and I have very high hopes for our students.

“The F1 in Schools challenge is taken very seriously because so many high level businesses and individuals in industry get involved. The British Williams F1 motor racing team even offers apprenticeships to some winners.

“I’d like to thank everyone at the Porsche Centre for being so accommodating and making us all so welcome during the visit.”

The challenge is part of Ron Dearing UTC’s extensive Enrichment Programme, which offers a host of opportunities for students to embrace an extra interest, such as cookery, theatre, learning a new language, music and more.

Due to Covid restrictions, the regional finals of the competition will take place online and teams will send their cars to the F1 in Schools organisers to race on their behalf, with the races available to watch on YouTube. If restrictions allow, the national finals will take place at Silverstone, the home of British racing, before the international finals which will take place in a location yet to be decided.

Sarah Hiles, Showroom Manager at Porsche Centre Hull, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Ron Dearing UTC students and they were all so enthusiastic.

“We believe it’s really important to invest in young people. We’re delighted to have been able to offer this experience.”

Ron Dearing’s UTC’s teams – Delta, Vortex, Overflow and Mach Racing – include students who bring various individual strengths to their groups and have chosen areas to specialise in, such as marketing, design or engineering.

Year 10 student Sandis Logins, 15, who is part of the Delta Racing team, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and it was amazing to visit the Porsche showroom. It’s my favourite car brand and I really enjoyed the day.

“It’s fantastic to be part of the F1 in Schools challenge and I hope we make it to the finals.”

Year 12 student Mercy McFarlane, 16, who is part of the Mach Racing team, said: “Visiting the Porsche showroom was inspiring. There is a lot of flying and travelling in the motorsport industry, which is why we want to look at sustainability as part of our team.”

The students will hold a fundraising event at the Porsche Centre in Hessle on March 17^th when invited guests will be able to support the teams in raising money towards uniforms, materials for the cars and other costs factored into their overall team budgets.

Any businesses who would like to support the students in the challenge, or attend the event, are asked to email Glenn Jensen, Senior Assistant Principal and Head of Engineering at Ron Dearing UTC, here.

Ron Dearing UTC is heavily oversubscribed for places for next year’s Year 10. As a result, last Thursday evening the oversubscription criteria were applied to all applications received by January 31, 2022.

Those students who were randomly selected have been contacted and offered a place. Their parents must now return the form enclosed with their offer to formally accept their place. All other applicants have been placed onto the waiting list (over 300 students).

If a student decides not to accept their place, we will go back to the waiting list and the oversubscription criteria will be applied again to identify a student to replace them. This student’s parents will then be contacted to offer their son/daughter the place.

The process will be complete by March 31, 2022. Any students who have not been randomly selected by this date will be sent a letter explaining that they have been unsuccessful gaining a place and providing information about the appeals process.

We appreciate that this is a very difficult situation for parents and students who have not been successful in gaining a place so far. We wish we were able to offer places to all students who applied but sadly do not have the capacity.

If you have any further questions, please email our Principal, Sarah Pashley, at [email protected]