Around 80 Year 8 students recently took part in an exciting hands-on STEM activity delivered by visiting staff from the McAlpine construction group, supervised by Mrs Stafford, Mr Barrett and Mr Stoddart throughout. The session began with a professional safety briefing before students suited up in full PPE – hard hats, safety glasses, hi-vis jackets and gloves – ready to begin construction.
Working in two teams, students collaborated to assemble a full-scale bridge. Their first task was to connect cables to shackles and raise the large supporting frames. From there, the bridge was built section by section, with each team carefully constructing their half of the structure until the two sides finally met in the middle to create an impressive 18-metre span.
Once the build was complete, the safety blocks were removed and the structure underwent a thorough visual safety inspection. With everything confirmed safe, students had the exciting opportunity to walk across the bridge they had just built themselves.
As always, our students represented Magna Academy brilliantly. The visiting McAlpine team were extremely impressed with the teamwork, enthusiasm and professionalism shown throughout the event.
We hope to welcome McAlpine back again next year so that this fantastic activity becomes a regular opportunity for our Year 8 students. If you are currently in Year 7, you may well get the chance to take part next year!
Students who were not involved this time will be invited to another STEM opportunity later in the year, ensuring that everyone in the year group has the chance to experience STEM learning outside of the classroom environment.