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The RGSAO Arkwright Scholars
The RGSAO Arkwright Scholars

Prestigious Scholarships Awarded to RGSAO Students

28 November 2008

At a ceremony held at the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Savoy Place London, on 31st October 2008, Duncan Leary, James Scott, William Short and Luca Volpe from RGS Worcester & Alice Ottley School were awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships for their outstanding work in design & technology.

All the students from RGSAO are sponsored by local heating manufacturer Worcester, Bosch Group and are pictured to the right receiving their certificates from Tobias Geibel, Director of Engineering at Worcester.

“Worcester is proud to be part of such a worthwhile scheme. It is important that companies support our future generations, after all they are the ones who will be responsible for shaping our future technologies,” commented Tobias.

Scholars are selected following a rigorous selection process comprising an application, Arkwright Aptitude Paper and interview. During the interview students presented their GCSE project work to a panel of interviewers demonstrating a commitment to design, engineering and technology. Interviews are hosted across the country by universities. The interviewees participate in a team activity and tour the engineering / design departments. In all, 238 Scholarships were awarded, following applications from 740 candidates.

An Exhibition of a selection of A/S Level Project work was displayed by Arkwright Scholars' who received Scholarships in 2007.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology hosted the Presentation of Awards at their prestigious building in Savoy Place, London.

Ian Morris CEng MIMechE, Director of The British Fluid Power Association one of Arkwright's new Major Sponsors commented,

"Seeing 238 scholars, who had not only achieved such outstanding results in their exam schedule, put themselves through the Arkwright selection procedure is a most reassuring sign that Engineering is far from finished in this country. The certificates presented to Scholars and Sponsors by Mr Ray Roberts President of the BFPA are just the first step on one of life's most rewarding journeys, a career in Engineering''.

The Arkwright Trust was founded in 1990 and supports young people during their 'A' Level/Scottish Higher years by awarding £250 a year to assist with the purchase of materials and books. Each student will also carry the status of 'Arkwright Scholar' into university. The school's design & technology department receives £225 per year for the next two years.

"This is the second year that RGSAO has managed to get four students through the rigorous assessment procedure. From the statistics it can be seen how difficult it is for a school to obtain more than one scholarship. Four is a very exceptional achievement," commented a delighted David Cotterill, Head of Design & Technology at RGSAO.

"The money that my department has been awarded through the scholarship scheme has been used to purchase new equipment. Through the generosity of Worcester, Bosch Group and the Arkwright scheme we have managed to equip a room with sixteen computers to enable our D&T pupils to make use of modern computer aided design and manufacturing systems. We will continue to encourage pupils to take up careers within design and engineering.”


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