Technology tournament puts Southery youngsters’ skills to the test

Youngsters in Southery have been putting their creative skills to the test at a junior technology tournament.

The event, which was organised by Downham Rotary Club, challenged pupils at Southery Academy to design and build a scale model of a bridge over a pedestrian path in an animal sanctuary.

Officials say the tournament was a “fun way” to better the children’s understanding of design, technology and simple engineering, with the aim of encouraging them to consider a future career in engineering.

The challenge saw pupils of the Kingfisher class tasked with building a bridge that would enable small animals to reach feeding areas of the animal sanctuary without encountering humans.

The model had to be wide enough to span the path, high enough to allow people to pass under it safely and strong enough to withstand wind.

The pupils were all given the same materials and two hours to complete the task.

A Rotary spokesman said: “This was the first time they had been given such a task, but each team was soon working busily, deciding the design necessary to achieve the right type of bridge.”

He said the final part of the exercise – testing the design and construction of the models – was watched by the students and their teachers.

“Every team had risen to the challenge with a variety of bridge designs that met all the required specifications,” he added.

“Teachers and judges congratulated everyone for the way they had worked together.”