Jake – Rochester Bridge Trust Arkwright Engineering Scholar 2022

Throughout my A-level studies at St Olave’s Grammar School, I have learnt valuable lessons such as resilience and perseverance in the face of failure, which are priceless lessons I’ll need in my career as an engineer. I am studying towards A-levels in maths and further maths, physics, design & technology, and also an AS-level in English literature – I will get my result for that this summer.

After my A-levels, I am eager to look at the route of a degree apprenticeship, where the mix of invaluable work experience alongside the lack of student debt makes it a standout option for my future.

Ensuring a greener and more environmentally friendly future is an idea that has interested me ever since I was young enough to understand the true impact we have on our climate. Practices such as sourcing green materials to use in engineering projects are something I take great interest in, and I’m currently focusing on this within my A-level DT Project.

This project so far has allowed me to use all those niche fundamental concepts I’ve built through A-level maths and physics, as I’m currently working on a sustainable solution to improve safety for Go-Kart drivers. Areas such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and aerodynamics are essential in these kinds of designs, as maximising track performance without sacrificing user safety is a tough thing to balance. The iterative design process is crucial in designing a product in this area, and I am very grateful to the Rochester Bridge Trust for sponsoring me, as I was able to use my bursary to buy a Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer which facilitates this design process.

Despite many people thinking maths and English aren’t compatible for studying together past GCSE level, I firmly believe the creative mind you develop through interpreting and analysing texts provides the same building blocks used when initially tackling real-world engineering problems. With both subjects, although one solution doesn’t seem to work, viewing the problem through a different perspective may provide a sleeker, more efficient answer. Thank you again to the Trust for giving me this opportunity.

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