Aspiring young engineers from Westfield Community Technology College, put their engineering theory into practise last week in a junk yard challenge.

Year 9 students were set to task by the Smallpiece Engineering Trust, building cranes capable of carrying significant weights, using just magnets and small metal fixtures.

Pupils were required to see the project through from its initial planning stages all the way through its construction processes to completion.

Their final product then had to be pitched to an expert panel of judges.

The panel needed to be convinced that the cranes were a viable and cost effective project, in a pressurized environment reminiscent of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den.

Assistant Principal Peter Creber said the day had been a resounding success.

“The judges have carried out this task at a variety of schools across the country and said that our pupils had handled it particularly well,” he said.

“It’s important for them to be able to use classroom ideas in a hands-on environment using team-work skills which are crucial in the working world.”

Westfield organised the day-long event to celebrate its seven year specialist status as a technology centre, which it was granted in September 2001.

Mr Crebers said: “Our commitment to technology is something we take very seriously. We don’t just want it to be part of the school’s title.”