29 June 2012
Kincorth Academy Builds Bridges with Petrofac
Petrofac, the international oil & gas service provider, held its 12th annual Bridge Building competition for pupils of Aberdeen’s Kincorth Academy on Thursday 29 June.
The education-industry partnership between Kincorth Academy and Petrofac is now in its 14th year and once again, the students were engaged in this popular engineering and construction challenge. Under the supervision of the school’s Design and Technology department, the students used a computer-based design package, their engineering skills and materials supplied by Petrofac to construct balsa wood bridges over the course of the school term.
Initially ten teams took up the challenge, with five teams making it through to the final on Thursday.
The judging took place at Petrofac’s Bridge View office, where a specialist panel critiqued the design, presentation and build quality of each project. During the judging process, each bridge was subjected to an increasing load test by adding weights, with the winning bridge withstanding a load of over 40kg.
The trophy and prizes were presented to the Bridge Busters, a team comprising Sean McDonald (13), Jordan Spalding (13), Bartek Przybysz (13) and Matthew Randall (14).
Susanne Henderson, Deputy Head teacher of Kincorth Academy, said: “The Bridge Building competition is an excellent opportunity for the pupils to work closely with industry experts and gain detailed knowledge of engineering and construction.
The project is always a very popular challenge with our students. The experience encourages their interest in these topics and highlights a potential career they may not have previously considered.
It is also a fantastic way of us building on our valuable relationship with Petrofac year on year.”
Drew Russell, Vice President, Petrofac Offshore Projects & Operations added: “This competition is just one of the education-industry initiatives supported by Petrofac. The Bridge Building project has proved very successful over the years as an innovative way of learning and instilling an awareness of our industry and its career potential. It is something Petrofac is very proud to support and we’re always impressed with enthusiasm and hard work that the pupils display.”