Girls in Aerospace

The winning team

Girls got a glimpse of the world of aerospace engineering at Lancaster University this term when they designed, built and raced their own hovercrafts.

On Friday, January 27, 2006, female year ten pupils from across the region came to the Great Hall, Lancaster University, to attend the free, interactive design-and-build event.

During the day they discovered more about engineering as a career and gained some practical experience through designing and building mini hovercrafts.

Last year more than 80 students from schools in Lancashire and Cumbria came to Lancaster University for the event.

Girls in Aerospace is funded by Aimhigher - North West and organised in partnership with the University of Manchester. It is supported by the University of Bradford, Lancaster University and Setpoint - Lancashire.

Aimhigher is a national project to encourage more young people into Further Education and Higher Education by a number of initiatives to increase awareness, aspirations and attainment. One particular focus of Aimhigher – North West is the raising of awareness of routes into Science, Engineering and Technology by encouraging and motivating young people to consider Engineering as a Career and Further Education or Higher Education options.

Steve Quayle of Lancaster University Engineering Department awarded prizes to competition winners at the event.

He said: “The day was a great success. The judges were impressed by all the entries and the enthusiasm and energy that the girls had put into their designs. The event is a wonderful introduction to what a career in engineering can offer, excitement, teamwork, variability, satisfaction and fun.”