The Inspirational Learning Group (TILG) has marked another hugely successful year of its Next Engineers Summer Camp, welcoming over 100 aspiring young engineers to the Octagon Events Centre at Stafford Education and Enterprise Park. Now in its third year, the two week programme gave Year 9 and 10 students from across Staffordshire an unforgettable insight into the world of engineering.
Across the fortnight, students took part in a series of hands on challenges designed to develop critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork, all inspired by real world engineering scenarios. One highlight saw students explore Newton’s Third Law of Motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, by applying it to a mini-golf challenge, where they had to design and test courses that demonstrated the principle in action.
Other activities included building the tallest towers, creating hydraulic arms powered by syringes, and developing prototypes that could lift and move marshmallow objects, all pushing students to apply theory in fun, practical ways.
Each day ended with an “Engineer of the Day” award, celebrating those who had shown outstanding effort and ingenuity, appreciated and recognised by students and parents.
The programme also gave students the chance to see engineering in action beyond the camp. They visited Staffordshire University to experience what engineering at higher education level looks like, and were given exclusive access to GE Vernova’s factory in Stafford, where they explored different industries, career paths, and witnessed cutting edge engineering in practice.
The camp was supported not only by TILG’s experienced facilitator team but also by more than 40 volunteers from GE Vernova. Week one featured support from Maddie, Ehab, and Emily, while week two saw Maddie joined by Oliwer and Nathan – all recent graduates of Cohort 1 and 2.
Emily shared her reflections:
“As I’ve done academy myself I understand how important it is for students to have a go at these experience weeks. It’s so important trying new things, to inspire for things when they are older, it’s an amazing career path that it can get students into. They’ve had amazing week testing different activities and projects. It’s been great. As well, for their presentation skills it’s an opportunity like no other.”
Alan from GE Vernova also added:
“I’ve been attending many of these Next Engineers events. It’s an absolutely wonderful opportunity for the children, it’s fantastic. They are the future of our industry, and we need engineers and we need top quality graduates. And these, are going to be the future. You can see it in their experiences that are gaining here and their enthusiasm and its what we need, it is the future.”
At the end of each week, proud parents and guardians were welcomed to a showcase event where students presented their final prototypes on stage, sharing their designs, findings and insights. These sessions gave young people the chance to develop their public speaking skills and demonstrate the passion for engineering they had built throughout the camp.
Parents were quick to share their gratitude for the programme. One said:
“I just wanted to send a quick email to thank you, Liam, Ben, Caroline, Emily, Maddie, Nathan, Sammie and the rest of the TILG and GE Vernon a team for a wonderful week. It’s been really special to see how much Shey has enjoyed the week and a real spark in her passion for engineering. She has come home every day telling us every detail of everything that’s happened. This week couldn’t have happened without every single one of you making it so memorable, educational and inspirational for Shey and clearly all of the young people that were there. Thank you so much.”
Another added:
“I just wanted to make contact to thank everyone involved for the fantastic opportunity provided with the Engineering Experience. M**** got so much out of the week – she thoroughly enjoyed the activities planned and learnt a lot about the processes an engineer has to go through. From a parents perspective, it was reassuring to have such a well organised course, with such great communication. I was also very grateful for the specific support put in place for M***** – having an autism diagnosis, she is much more comfortable with a clear structure and she really appreciated having someone (Caroline) to make contact with if she was unsure about anything. I know that this experience has helped her confidence to grow considerably and she was delighted to receive her award for being ‘Engineer of the Day’. Wishing you all the best of luck with future experiences.”
Another successful year of inspiring the next generation of engineers. Congratulations to all students who took part.
As we move into the 2025/26 academic year, The Inspirational Learning Group will continue to expand opportunities for young people through the Next Engineers Discovery Programme. These sessions, delivered free to schools across Staffordshire, give Year 9 pupils an introduction to engineering, broadening their knowledge and inspiring future career choices.
