Arconic Stem Challenge

Joshua Wardle, 12O, writes,

On Thursday 14th June, two teams of five Year 12 students headed to Sherrardswood School to compete in the Arconic Challenge. The goal of the challenge was to design and conceptualise a plan to reduce carbon emissions in the UK by up to 40% by 2030. Over the course of the day, we had to write a Concept Paper outlining our idea, create a presentation and face questioning from the judges about our ideas. There was extra pressure to create a good presentation as the Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, Barbara Fitzsimon, was watching!

Both teams created some exceptionally innovative ideas, including measuring CO₂ emissions using air filters and taxing drivers based on this; using bioplastics for the chassis of the car and using electrolysis to turn CO₂ emissions into a usable biofuel while the car was running! Both teams were eloquent and well-spoken in their ideas.

Before this main challenge, we also competed in an ‘icebreaker’ challenge – to design a flying car. Needless to say, the passengers in our vehicles probably wouldn’t have survived the trip! At the end of the day, the Onslow team won with their ‘P.O.D.S’ idea, although both Stanborough teams were commended for their effort. The trip made for an engaging day and I’d like to thank our hosts from Arconic for running the event.