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Talented pupils engineer success at UEL technology challenge

Tuesday 3 July 2007

Talented pupils from schools across Newham got a taste of university life on Friday 22 June when they took part in a Science and Technology Challenge at the University of East London (UEL) Docklands Campus.

Cllr Omana Gangadharan, Civic Ambassador of Newham, joined Paul Waterworth, Director of MCS Projects Ltd, to congratulate the winners and award certificates of participation at the end-of-challenge presentation.

120 Year 8 and 9 pupils from the Gifted and Talented programme at ten Newham schools attended the event, organised in partnership with MCS Projects Ltd, which works with schools, businesses and colleges in order to raise the aspirations of young people.

After being divided into mixed-school teams, the pupils were asked to solve four complex science and engineering based problems: designing a self-righting buoy, a paper marble run, a fuel cell and a robotic car with a remote control.

Cllr Gangadharan said: “I am very impressed by the teamwork demonstrated by the students and the ingenuity shown to complete all the challenges. I went around many of the groups and was particularly proud of the way in which girls were taking the initiative.”

Paul Waterworth added: “I’d like to congratulate all the pupils involved on how well they worked together. We deliberately try to make things difficult by putting the students in mixed school and mixed gender teams, but everyone responded to the challenges brilliantly.”

Daniel Law (14), of Upton Park, was a member of the event’s overall winning team, alongside Mohammed Abdul (14) of Straford, and Parul Vekaria (14) and Sabina Parvin (14), both of Forest Gate.

Daniel, a pupil at Rokeby School, said: “Today’s been a great experience; I learnt a lot about how science can be applied in the real world and it was really nice to end up on the winning team. UEL looks like a great university and it’s been really good to work with the student ambassadors.”

UEL hosts a range of summer schools, master-classes, exhibitions and events with local schools and community groups throughout the year. For details, call 020 8223 2598.

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For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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