New Report Reveals Transformative Impact of Primary Engineer Rail Programme on School pupils
The report, titled “Keeping Kids on Track: Evaluating Five Years of the Primary Engineer Rail Programme,” sheds light on the significant positive impact the programme has had on primary school pupils across the UK. Unveiled on March 14th in Neath, Wales, Primary Engineer were joined by key figures from industry and education to explore the report’s findings and discuss the revelations about the transformative power of the programme.
For five years, the Primary Engineer Rail Programme has brought practical Rail Engineering into classrooms and helped inspire the next generation of engineers. Launched in 2018 with Hitachi Rail, the programme embeds engineering at the heart of learning as young pupils collaborate to design, build, and refine rail vehicle models. Over the course of five years the Primary Engineer Rail Programme has provided 40,000 Rail Engineering learning opportunities across England and Scotland, expanding its reach to Wales since 2023.
The programme culminates in a Celebration Event where pupils test and challenge their designs and share what they have learned with engineering professionals. The report was launched with the Global Centre for Rail Excellence (GCRE), who partner with Primary Engineer in Neath, Wales. Guests of the roundtable were able to see the impact of the Primary Engineer Rail Programme first hand, and the excitement this inspires amongst the pupils and teachers who take part.
Dr Debra Williams, Chair of the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, commented:
“The celebration event we held this week was a fantastic success and it was wonderful to see the very impressive models that the young people have been working hard on over these last few months. We’re incredibly grateful to the Primary Engineer team for their work and the support we have received from our partners in the UK and Welsh Government.
“For the Global Centre of Rail Excellence, this is a critical strand of work for us. We want to inspire the next generation of young engineers, scientists and researchers living locally to see the exciting future they can build through their passion for scientific inquiry and problem solving. That starts by ensuring young people take an interest in STEM and, importantly, have the opportunity to develop their skills. We want this project with Primary Engineer to be the start of a long-term programme of activity with local schools and young people that helps develop the interests of young people and helps us develop a long-term pipeline of talented people to come and use their skills at the GCRE site.
“The report Primary Engineer have published this week showing their impact on the schools and pupils they have worked with over the last five years shows what can be achieved. Young lives can be transformed when they discover their passion and it’s great to be involved in such an important programme.”
Also on the panel was Dr Susan Scurlock, Founder and Chief Executive of Primary Engineer. Commenting on the launch of the report and the culmination of five years of the programme, Susan said:
“The findings of the report overwhelmingly support that the Primary Engineer Rail Programme is successful in its objectives. Young people are inspired by Engineering, develop richer understandings and interests in Rail Engineering, and express a desire to learn more about Engineering following their experience with us.
It was amazing to be in Neath to launch this report, whilst we have delivered this programme successfully in England and Scotland over the years, we have more recently deployed the programme in Wales with resounding success, thanks to the support of The Department for Business and Trade (DBT), The Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE), Network Rail, Innovate UK, Stadler Rail and the Welsh Government. We look forward to growing our work in Wales, as well as expanding further across the UK.”
Alongside the key findings of the report are next steps Primary Engineer are taking to ensure the programme continually improves and reaches more pupils, not only in Wales, but also in Scotland and England. Industry, Government and Education come together again for a panel discussion in Scotland on April 17th with The University of Edinburgh, and again at Rail Live in June alongside Porterbrook Rail – both of which partner with Primary Engineer.
The programme continues to be available to school pupils across England, Scotland and Wales thanks to the many partners who fund the programme, with over 300 schools and 14,500 pupils expected to take part in the 2023/2024 academic year.
The report, which is available in both English and Welsh, is available from the Primary Engineer website: https://www.primaryengineer.com/keeping-kids-on-track.
