Innovative girls hosted an engineering contest to design new systems for improving road safety.

On Tuesday, November 4, Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls hosted an IET Faraday Challenge Day which saw six teams of Year 8 students research, design and make prototype solutions to a genuinely tough engineering problem.

Pupils from Whitecross, Monmouth Comprehensive, Tockington Manor, Caldicot, St John’s on the Hill and HMSG raced against the clock to solve a real-life issue, putting their engineering and technology knowledge and skills to the test.

All students even got to grips with 3D printers and new software.

Holly Margerison, Faraday Education Manager, said: “Students who take part in the Faraday Challenge Days experience hands-on design and practical work giving them a peek into the life of a real engineer, the variety of engineering out there and the central role it plays in our everyday lives.

“There is huge demand for new engineers and technicians and we’re confident that this will challenge young people’s perceptions of engineers and hopefully make them consider engineering as a career choice.”

The events aim to encourage more young people to study and consider exciting and rewarding careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by using creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.

Despite a close final, Whitecross School were crowned overall winners of the day and each team member was awarded a prize and a trophy for their school.

The top three teams from across the UK will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the national final in June 2015 to compete for a cash prize of up to £1,000 for their school.

Click here for more on Faraday Challenge Days.