N o .124
annual inter-house competition
stimulating ambitious projects
such as economic simulators and
electronic maths-strategy games.
At the time of Christopher’s visit,
the winners of the competition
had created a range of anti-
microbial garments to meet
that year’s brief to ‘design and
prototype a product to give
humans the capability of another
species’. Extracting the substance
chitosan from crustacea in the
Biology lab was entirely the idea
of the bright and inquisitive pupils
involved, and it set the benchmark
for ambitious research and
development projects to follow.
With encouragement from Christopher,
Freddie Benham-Crosswell (F, 09-14)
and Chris Huang (G, 09-14) established
IDEAS Soc (Innovation Design
Engineering and Applied Science),
which facilitates a number of pupil-led
R&D projects each year that bridge the
Kingsgate Road ‘gap’ between Mill and
Science School.
Under the IDEAS Soc banner, and with
financial support from the Taylor-Young
Engineering Fund, a number of guest
speakers have enthralled audiences at
the College, including Richard Noble
(E, 59-6 4)), F1 Design Engineer Gordon
Murray, and Engineer-cum-TV Presenter
Rob Bell. Trips have been organised
in the UK and overseas with industrial
visits to Rolls-Royce (jet engine assembly
line), the National Composites Centre,
Bloodhound SSC Technical Centre,
Formaplex and the Mini Factory. A
trip to ‘Motor Valley’ in the Emiglia
Romana region of Italy included factory
tours of Ducati and Pagani, and guided
tours of the museums of Ferrari and
Lamborghini. The trip concluded with a
highly informative lecture by a graduate
in racing yacht design.
Teams of Wykehamists have competed in
international engineering competitions
such as F1 in Schools and Greenpower
(race series for single-seater electric
T he T rusty S ervant
cars), and a number of individual
projects have received national awards.
Richard Ibekwe (Coll, 12-14) and
Raphael Njkoku (A, 2016-) both
benefitted from mentoring by experts
at the National Physical Laboratory on
their projects and were each awarded
Young Engineers’ Awards for Engineering
Excellence. Richard prototyped his idea
for a robotic exoskeleton rehabilitation
aid for stroke patients and Raphael
developed a smart information-display
system for use on London Buses that
would be particularly beneficial to
wheelchair-users. Wykehamists who
have been involved in such projects have
gone on to study Engineering at MIT,
Oxbridge, Imperial College, and many
other renowned universities.
The Design Technology curriculum at
Win Coll is designed to provide strong
foundations for future engineers. It
has been said that ‘the real problem of
engineering education is the implicit
acceptance of the notion that high-status
analytic courses are superior to those
that encourage the student to develop
an intuitive feel for the incalculable
complexity of engineering practice
in the real world.’ Through practical
engineering projects undertaken in Mill
as part of GCSE and A-level courses in
DT: Design Engineering, Wykehamists
are developing this intuitive feel that
complements the theoretical emphasis in
their study of Mathematics and Science.
9
The next major engineering project
in the planning is to design and
build a craft to break the Human-
Powered World Water-Speed
Record currently held by MIT’s
Decavitator, an air-propeller-
powered hydro-foiling lightweight
machine. Whilst the likes of
Guy Martin (TV Presenter and
general dare-devil) have made
recent attempts to break MIT’s
record speed of 18.5 knots, it
is hoped that over a three-year
period Wykehamists will be able
to develop a lighter and more
aerodynamically efficient craft
powered by one of Great Britain’s
Olympic Sprint Cyclists, and break the
20-knot barrier. Taking inspiration –
and hopefully a few tips – from Richard
Noble, the boys stand to gain a unique
experience through the project that will
stand them in good stead for future study
and practice of engineering.
A key benefit of practising engineering
design through real projects at school is
the motivation to pursue the profession
beyond university. Rather than opting
for an Engineering degree simply as
a reputable qualification to increase
general employability, our leavers are
prepared to meet the challenges of
today and tomorrow, with the technical
knowledge and practical skills developed
through a consistent focus on developing
their identity and commitment as
engineers.
Thanks to Christopher Taylor-Young,
Winchester College increasingly
produces engineers with not only strong
mathematical and scientific foundations,
but also the practical skills and intuitive
understanding gained through project
work in Mill. Wykehamists will be the
next generation of ‘making’ engineers
needed to fuel the UK and global
economy and solve the planet’s pressing
technological challenges.