24 February 2010
The Diploma is getting more girls interested in a career in engineering, according to The Independent.
Learners at a girls' school in Bromley have been described as 'pioneers' for teenage girls getting involved and studying for the Diploma in Engineering. Alongside their GCSEs, the 20 girls at Newstead Wood learn about electronics, manufacturing, engineering design and mechanics.
"It's so challenging, working things out for yourself," said Jessica Salisbury, 16.
Bethany Hall, 15, agrees. "You work in such different ways," she says. "For one assessment we had to look at how a torch works and take it apart, and then design a torch for a teacher going camping."
"Students learn through practical approaches, the content is varied, they get to work in teams and solve problems. It's also very challenging, which is important for them," said Jenny Wright, the school's head of engineering.
With the qualification starting to show its mettle, many teachers and employers are enthusiastic; viewing the Diploma as having a positive effect on the profession. Real-life applications are used for each topic, including looking at how escalators, cranes and diggers work, and take students out of the classroom and into the workplace. Some students are even setting up their own companies and taking work experience in Europe.
Top universities are backing it, with the first Diploma in Engineering students starting at Cambridge later this year.
Andy Colegate, the engineering technical manager who teaches one unit of the course, adds: "It turns out practical and competent students. It's not a wishy-washy qualification or an easy option."
Geoff Parks, the director of admissions at Cambridge University, is an engineer who has been involved in the Diploma's development:
"If any engineering tutor goes through the specifications, they will appreciate that students are learning good stuff," he says.
Universities are seeing a decline in practical skills among A-level students, partly because of what they do in schools. The Diploma gives students those skills."
"Employers are getting involved in all sorts of ways," says Claire Donovan, who is responsible for the Diploma at the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies. "They are teaching projects and helping with assessments, and this is all applied learning, so there is something in it for them as well. It has completely exploded the gap between industry and education."
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