MORE than 220 students from schools across the county enjoyed an action-packed day of whizz, bangs and forensics when they visited Cornwall College Camborne for its first ever science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) Fair and Aerospace Challenge.

The event incorporated a wide range of exciting and engaging STEM-related activities, including interactive stands and science buskers, live science displays and bite-size lecturers and workshops in marine science, ecology, 3D design, forensics, renewable energy, plant cells, engineering and paint spraying.

During the day there was also a chance to take part in the Aerospace Challenge, which saw groups of students from each of the schools flying model kit aircrafts they had made from a provided kit. The idea was to assess how aerodynamic the aircraft were, identify which stayed in the air the longest and try to avoid tricky objects.

Dr Mark Nason, director for science and natural environment at the Cornwall College Group, said: “The purpose of the day was to enthuse and inspire youngsters about exciting career options within STEM-related subjects. Participants had a go at 3D printing, investigated crimes and got to see some exciting car-park chemistry demonstrations with plenty of flashes and bangs.

“There was a serious side to the event too. Fewer than 15 per cent of 13 to14-year-olds within the UK are interested in pursuing a career in science; one in three scientific and technical companies find it difficult to recruit STEM skilled staff and 40 per cent of all businesses prefer to employ STEM graduates.

"The aim of the event was to help raise awareness of the exciting and rapidly growing areas that STEM graduates can work in, such as aerospace engineering, big data science and geophysics. Camborne, Redruth, Pool and St Austell particularly have amongst the lowest proportion of young people entering university level courses of any part of the UK – fewer than 20 per cent of 19 year olds – around half the national average. This is despite the availability of high quality and inclusive degree courses in Cornwall.”

Schools that attended the day included Brannel, Humphry Davy, Mounts Bay Academy, Newquay Tretherras, Poltair, Pool Academy, Redruth, Route 39, Sir James Smith’s and St Ives.

Jack Pellowe, 15, from Redruth School, said: “I really enjoyed the day and the ecology session as we got to identify invertebrates from the pond. I also loved flying my aircraft as we sprayed water on its wings to make it more aerodynamic.”

Tim Thorne, science teacher at St Ives School, who brought along some of his gifted and talented year eight students, said: “It was a great day and all the students got a lot out of it. It’s important for them to be stretched academically and the more they can see and experience outside of their comfort zone the better.”