A video showing how Ron Dearing UTC staff produced face shields for key workers during the coronavirus pandemic has won an award.
Glenn Jensen, the school’s Senior Assistant Principal (Employer Engagement), and his team manufactured 11,000 face shields for key workers including shop, care home, pharmacy and postal workers while students had to study at home during lockdown.
Working in partnership with local businesses and education leaders, the face shields helped to protect those who were unable to remain at home due to their jobs.
Glenn provided several video updates throughout the project, including one which illustrated how the face shields were made and the technical procedures involved in the process.
Now, Glenn has been awarded a Golden Egg Award for Best Technical Work in fun virtual awards organised by Kerrie White, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at the Goodwin Development Trust, a Hull charity which aims to improve quality of life for Hull residents.
Kerrie works with young people to help prepare them for the world of work and encouraged local employers and individuals to submit “How 2 in 2” two-minute videos in which they shared key skills and knowledge.
Her initial aim was to connect young people to the business community, showing them it is innovative, sharing and supportive of youth progression, while inspiring and encouraging them to learn and grow. Due to so many videos submitted, Kerrie organised the Golden Egg Awards to recognise and celebrate the best of the best.
Glenn, who detailed how to make a face shield from acrylic, foam and elastic in his video, said: “It’s amazing to win the award and I feel very humbled that my video was chosen as the winner for its technical aspects.
“It has been fantastic to be able to adapt what we do on a day-to-day basis and turn it into something positive for key workers during the pandemic.
“It shows that, using technology, we can still teach new things to new people, even during a time when we weren’t able to see each other in person.”
The awards featured 19 categories, including Best Actor and Actress, Best Location and Best Educational video, and seven of the young people Kerrie works with chose the winners, which were announced via a video on Twitter.
Kerrie said: “Glenn’s entry was really strong and fitted so well with the Best Technical Work category. The work Ron Dearing UTC does is innovative and enlightening and the school’s employer-led model is very powerful. Congratulations to Glenn.”