Junior girls design Southsea seafront attraction at Portsmouth High

Following on from the success of the Year 5 and Year 6 Challenge Day, Portsmouth High School hosted a similar event for Year 3 and Year 4 from external primary schools this week.

In a STEM challenge, the girls were tasked to design, build and test a visitor attraction train for Southsea seafront which involved them in thinking, planning, constructing and presenting to a panel of external judges.

Girls from St Swithun’s, Fernhurst, Gatcombe Park, Wimborne, Gomer and Cottage Grove schools joined teams from Portsmouth High School Junior School to take part in the challenge.

The girls were asked to design the visitor attraction train that would run on a test track and to create the travel company branding before presenting to the judges.

The panel was made up of Mrs Caroline Rose, Naval Architecture and Maritime Engineering Group Leader from QinetiQ and Mr Matthew McConnell from the School of Engineering at the University of Portsmouth.

‘It has been a thoroughly engaging day and the children have enjoyed the task,’ said Mrs Hoskins from St Swithun’s School.  ‘It has also been brilliant having external, professional, judges giving their input.’

‘Making the train has been really fun,’ said Pia McClernon from Wimborne Junior School. ‘Although ours doesn’t go very fast we’ve had a lot of fun making it.’

The winning team was Gomer Junior School for their overall team presentation and seafront visitor attraction train.

‘Top marks to everyone for their amazing designs and all the girls were phenomenal,’ said Mr McConnell from the University of Portsmouth.

‘We have been extremely impressed by the quality of the presentations,’ added Mrs Rose.  ‘It goes to show that team work, whatever and wherever you are, is absolutely essential.’

‘The day has been a lot of fun,’ said Isabelle Ricketts aged 8 from the winning team, Gomer Junior School. ‘We’ve used our design skills and worked well together as a group.’