Many congratulations to Lower Sixth Formers Henry Poppleton and Tom Chambers who were both recently awarded full Arkwright Engineering Scholarships. Henry was presented his scholarship at an awards ceremony held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology in London. Tom, who was attending an U18 hockey tour in Europe, was unable to make the ceremony, however he was equally delighted to receive his award remotely.
Henry and Tom are the fifth and sixth Bedford School boys respectively to be awarded an Arkwright Scholarship in the last five years.
An Arkwright Scholarship is one of the most prestigious scholarships of its type, and aims to inspire and nurture high-calibre 16-year-old students to be future leaders in the engineering profession. Henry and Tom were two out of 1,594 students who applied nationally for a scholarship.
The boys first heard about the engineering scholarship when Mr Holt, their Design Technology teacher, encouraged them to apply as they were interested in following engineering as a career.
The process involved completing a detailed application form where they described a number of technical projects they had undertaken, and then they sat a tough, two-hour aptitude exam. The exam required them to demonstrate their skills by producing innovative solutions to engineering design problems. Having passed the exam, they then travelled to Bath University for a formal interview and some engineering-based team building problems. The interview was used to assess their understanding of engineering, career aspirations, leadership potential and suitability for an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship.
The scholarship runs over two years and is widely respected in the engineering industry. Both boys will be given £600 over the two years to spend on materials, equipment or activities to further their engineering interests, and Bedford School is awarded £400 (per boy) to be used to enhance STEM subjects. They have been matched with a personal mentor who can provide advice and information as they progress to university, and they could also help with arranging a site visit or work experience.
Well done to both Henry and Tom.
