Heathcote HAPs visit Westminster University with the DT Department

Towards the end of June, some of our high-flying DT pupils were delighted to visit the University of Westminster and discover some possible options for the future. Head of DT Mr Dolan writes;

Pupils on our HAP (High Aspiration Pupil) scheme attended an insight day at the university of Westminster on Wednesday to gain an insight into the future pathways available to them once they have finished studying at Heathcote School. This builds on the experiences enjoyed by pupils earlier in the year where they found out about the apprenticeship route with support from our sponsor Gardiner and Theobald to provide pupils with extensive insight into their future options.

The pupils began the day with a presentation from university lecturers and students about choosing the route of academia and the benefits that being a student provides. After this pupils took part in a challenge to establish equilibrium; working in teams to compete for prizes against one another using the lessons learnt from an engineering lecturer at the university. Having overcome the nerve-shattering challenge of finding equilibrium, pupils then took part in a workshop that focused on the topic of procurement and resource-management; buying and selling goods and services and responding to market-forces.

After lunch pupils then took a tour of the university campus with current students to see the ‘Fab Lab’, robotics testing station and extensive CAD/CAM facilities at the university before attending the Bachelor of Arts third year and masters presentation of works where the quality of work and display were absolutely mind-blowing. The day was then completed with a Q&A in a typical lecture theatre where it was commented that our pupils asked more questions than any other school that has visited previously; a testament to the intellectual curiosity and aptitude for maximising their potential of Heathcote pupils!

A lot of excitement was generated during the workshops and tour of facilities and the focus and drive that our pupils demonstrated was absolutely outstanding. Pupils were respectful of the opportunity and made the most of this different day of learning and I was proud to have accompanied them on this visit.

Mr Dolan

Head of Design & Technology