Schools Challenge 2007

IStructE's second Schools Challenge took place at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf on Wednesday, 5 December 2007. 14 teams of students from schools across London competed in the challenging project to design and build a pedestrian bridge using only paper.

The teams were tasked with designing and building a working model for a new lightweight pedestrian footbridge to cross a river using paper tubes. The students had to ensure that their models could withstand a weight of 4kg, while being as lightweight as possible. The winning teams came from Mulberry School for Girls in East London and Little Ilford School in Essex.

The teams were tasked with designing and building a working model for a new lightweight pedestrian footbridge to cross a river using paper tubes. The students had to ensure that their models could withstand a weight of 4kg, while being as lightweight as possible. The winning teams came from Mulberry School for Girls in East London and Little Ilford School in Essex.

Young structural engineers and IStructE staff were on hand to provide expertise and knowledge about the design and build process to the teams during the activity. Among the structural engineers present was David MacKenzie, a Partner and bridge design specialist from Flint and Neill Partnership, a structural engineering consultancy based in London. David gave a presentation on recent high-profile projects his company has worked on, including the Bridge of Aspiration, London and the Swansea and Downstream Bridge, Swansea, before taking the students on a tour of the South Quay footbridge, a local cable-stayed pedestrian bridge at Canary Wharf. Liz Green, a graduate structural engineer working for The Millward Partnership and a member of the Educational Trust also made a presentation on the benefits of becoming a structural engineer.

Funded by the Institution of Structural Engineers' (IStructE) Educational Trust and the Happold Trust, in association with STEMNET/ British Association for the Advancement of Science, Islington Education Business Partnership, Input National, The Smallpeice Trust/London Engineering Project, the day was designed to promote awareness of the vital role structural engineering plays in the modern environment and to encourage students to consider it as a challenging and rewarding career.

Deborah Lazarus, Chairman of the IStructE Educational Trust, said: 'We are delighted to sponsor the Schools Challenge for its second consecutive year. This is becoming a real success story in presenting young people with an introduction and insight into structural engineering that they will remember, and that will hopefully lead them into a career in structural engineering.'

IStructE's Educational Trust was established in 1991 with the main objective of promoting excellence in structural engineering. It is primarily aimed at encouraging young people to join the profession of structural engineering by awarding educational scholarships and travel grants and arranging competitions, awarding medals and prizes for excellence.

IStructE would like to thank both the Educational Trust and the Happold Trust for their support.