Eastleigh College apprentices and full-time students took part in an exciting Scrapheap Challenge event held at the College on Wednesday 8^th February. Automotive and Engineering students were set the challenge of designing, planning and constructing something that would transport the largest possible volume of polystyrene balls from one container, uphill, to another container.

Working in teams, students produced a design specification and built a working prototype within a specified time allowance, using scrap materials including: cardboard, plastic tubes, paper, plastic bottles, string, sticky tape, rubber bands, and many more items. To develop their prototypes, students used machinery and tools in the state-of-the-art engineering workshop, all overseen by college lecturers, with the final results being judged by a panel of industry experts.

Mike Driscoll, Deputy Head of the Technology Faculty at Eastleigh College, was pleased with how well received the event was and said:

"This year's Scrapheap Challenge was an exhilarating experience for all. Students participated positively having spent the entire day working in teams to design, plan and manufacture their prototypes whilst navigating through a range of personal learning and thinking skills - skills that are essential to an Apprenticeship Framework and skills which this activity was designed to target."

Members of the winning team, 'The Yellow Mellows', who produced a winch-operated contraption, each received a prize of a socket set. Mike Masson, Advanced Engineering apprentice and a member of the winning team said:

"Today has been really enjoyable. It's been nice doing something different, using our creativity and working with new people."

Jamie Lunn, also from the winning team and an Advanced Engineering apprentice added:

"We all contributed ideas, and we're obviously happy with the final result, it all came good in the end!"

Paul Manship of W.H. Rowe, one of the industry judges, commented:

"Each team had very different designs to find the end product. It has been good to see the students working together in teams and in their own environment, working collectively to achieve a desired result. "