After a successful partnership with Primary Engineer for schools in the East Midlands, we teamed up again with the organisation in 2022 to deliver their Rail Project to schools local to us at the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre.

789 pupils across 10 schools participated in the year-long project, culminating in a celebration where students showed off the trains they had designed and built with the help of Porterbrook engineers.

“The children were so engaged when the engineer came to visit!” Katherine Bunt from Bishopton Primary said.

Key Stage 1 students built a ‘shoe box train’, learning how to design and decorate their own shoe boxes, using string to create brakes for their vehicles. Key Stage 2 students built an electrically powered train, making their own chassis and learning about electronic circuits, using paper clips as their power switches.

“Pupils realised engineering is all about problem solving.” Jane Kent a teacher from Salford Priors commented.

At the conclusion of the Rail Project, we were delighted to hear that 100% of teachers reported an increase in their understanding of engineering and how they can make an impact on engineering career aspirations. 100% of the teachers also reported a better understanding of the diversity challenges in engineering.

“This project has been the most wonderful experience for our children!” Tim Hussey from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary shared.