Fifteen Year 11 students went with Ms Whitehead to Brompton Barracks, home of the Royal Engineers, on 21 November. We had a warm welcome from our guide, Tony, who looked after us during the day, directed us to our activities, showed us where to find lunch and answered our questions.

We visited a wide range of stands in which we learnt about the different ways that the Army uses STEM subjects in their everyday work. We heard from Bomb Disposal about how they prepare to defuse bombs and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), the importance of testing the fuels that are used in aeroplanes, tanks and trucks, the teams who look after the buildings and put up tiles and lay bricks, those that design walls from composite materials to check that walls are blast-proof, designers of airbases to make sure that the fuel dumps are well away from the residential quarters, how to assess the ground to ensure that the buildings have the correct foundations. We also had a chance to look round a Terrier tank and to try on protective equipment.

We took part in three challenges during the day; designing and building a bridge which was tested to see how strong it was, design and build a rocket and finally to build the tallest structure using wooden strips and small bulldog clips. In these challenges we were competing against the other 300 students from 7 schools who were also attending the event. I am very pleased and proud to say that Stocky came out as the winning team!

I would like to pay tribute to all the students who came on the trip; everyone took part in the challenges, listened to the various presentations and were the first school to become quiet when the introductory and concluding talks were being given.

Even though it was a cold day and we spent the majority of the day outside all the students remained cheerful and enthusiastic, and it was an absolute joy to spend the day with the Stocky team.

We featured on the Army Snapchat story as the winning team, and we were included in the local ITV news that evening.

Thanks go to Mr. Tillott who drove the minibus for us.