Case Study: Elliott Jones – A story about a real engineer in the making
INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY
When Elliott, a Year 12 student at St Katherines Secondary School and Sixth Form, submitted his engineering idea to the Leaders Award Competition he had no idea the doors it would open – or the extraordinary impact it would have.
THE COMPETITION
The Leaders Award Competition is a national competition open to all pupils aged 3–19 and asks the question ‘If you were an engineer, what would you do?’. Pupils are tasked with interviewing an engineer, helping them to find the inspiration to come up with their own engineering idea.
Once they have interviewed an engineer, pupils are asked to identify a problem in the world around them and engineer a creative solution for that problem. They create an annotated drawing of their idea and write a letter to an engineer explaining why their idea should be built. Engineering professionals grade every single entry, before sending shortlisted entries to regional judging panels, with the winners being awarded at regional award ceremonies.
This competition is provided free to schools thanks to the support of Primary Engineer partners who not only support with funding, but also with enthusiastic engagement to help inspire the next generation of engineers. Two partners, GKN Aerospace and the University of the West of England (UWE), massively support the competition in South West England.
So what was Elliott’s idea?
THE IDEA
The ‘SMARTH’ is a bathroom design that has the ability to mix hygiene products with water, making bathing or showering much easier. Elliott’s design included many detailed features, such as temperature sensors, a detachable waterproof tablet that controls the temperature of the water and music and tanks on the outside of the unit which – when activated with the detachable tablet – mix the contents (shampoo and bubble bath) into the water system.
This concept and details massively impressed the judges, and Elliott was awarded a winner’s medal by representatives of GKN Aerospace and UWE at the South West England Award Ceremony on 30th June 2023.
At the award ceremony Chris Rochester, UK Director and Head of Partnerships at Primary Engineer, introduced Elliott to Lisa Brodie, the Dean at University of West England, and Ian Gent, composite research engineer at GKN Aerospace. After this initial discussion Elliott was provided with the fantastic opportunity to visit both the university and GKN Aerospace‘s Global Technology Centre (GTC). At the awards and during the visit to the GTC, Elliott and his family were introduced to the option of apprenticeships and in particular GKN’s apprenticeship scheme. This was a route into the engineering sector that neither were aware of. One year on Elliott successfully applied for an apprenticeship with GKN Aerospace.
John Watton, Technical Capability Director at GKN Aerospace, commented to say “GKN Aerospace have been partnering with Primary Engineer since 2021during which time we have had the privilege of engaging in many amazing and fun Primary Engineer led STEM activities. Elliot’s story is a fantastic example of how a successful and collaborative partnership can lead to a really positive outcome, inspiring the next generation of engineers is crucial for the continued success of our industry – GKN Aerospace is delighted to have Elliot as one of our team!”
But the story didn’t end there.
PROTOTYPE
After each year of the Leaders Award Competition, University and Industry Partners of Primary Engineer select an idea to turn into reality – and after the impression Elliott and his idea left on the University, UWE decided to choose the SMARTH as their prototype.
Working off Elliott’s original design, their team managed to turn his concept into a working prototype – unveiling the design alongside Elliott at the 2024 South West England Award Ceremony on June 5th.
Primary Engineer and UWE have been working together since 2021, hosting the judging day, the regional award ceremony and public exhibition and being a prototype partner.
Ramin Amali, Dean and Head of School of Engineering at UWE Bristol commented “The University of the West of England, Bristol partners with Primary Engineer on their Leaders Award competition to inspire young people to think like engineers by creating inventions to solve real-world problems. UWE’s involvement as a partner highlights our commitment to encouraging the next generation of engineers, allowing students to explore engineering concepts and interact with professionals in the field.”
So what did Elliott think of all this?
ELLIOTT
Elliott said: “I was so grateful to my DT teacher Mr Fey at St Katherine’s for encouraging me to enter the competition. It was great fun but also very challenging to come up with an idea that would be useful to people as well as practical. The best part of it for me was that I got introduced to GKN Aerospace as part of it. I didn’t know much about them before the competition, but they talked to me a lot about their apprenticeship programme and I was lucky enough to get a place on it. I started in September 2024 and am really enjoying it. It’s a great way into the practical side of engineering and I’m earning money while getting started on my career.”
This story highlights the way this competition paves the way for young people to have a career in engineering and being able to connect with industry and university professionals helps create a meaningful impact and shape their future.
There are so many different routes into engineering and like many of our partners, both GKN Aerospace and UWE have a variety of options available.
- Check out what course and degree apprenticeships the university offers.
- Check out the careers available and the apprenticeships at GKN Aerospace.
Huge thank you to both GKN Aerospace and UWE for partnering with us and inspiring pupils in our South West England region.
GET INVOLVED!
We work with our partners across the UK to bring a real-world context of engineering and technology into the classroom to generate the future talent pool. You could be our next Leaders Award partner and even have the opportunity to turn a pupil’s idea into a reality with a prototype. Contact us to find out more.