10th March 2022
Be a positive role model to inspire engineers of the future
Engineers from companies across the West Midlands are being asked to sign up to help develop and deliver a new project for primary schools, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
21st February 2022
University College Birmingham partner with The Smallpeice Trust
University College Birmingham have unveiled an exciting new range of engineering college courses. The Smallpeice Trust is delighted to partner with them to inspire more young people in Birmingham to follow a career path in engineering.
15th February 2022
Playground Games to support video game design competition
After a successful launch last year, we are excited to announce the development of our partnership with Playground Games, the triple-A games developer behind the Forza Horizon series, to run a video game design competition for KS3 students at State Schools across the UK.
21st January 2022
Nominate an exceptional engineering teacher for the David Clarke Prize
Do you know an outstanding teacher that has gone the extra mile to inspire young people into engineering? Nominations are now open for the ERA Foundation’s David Clarke Prize.
17th January 2022
From playing with LEGO® to making the Airbus A380 fly
Hear how one of our alumni reached for the sky and followed her passion. Vicki Murdie CEng MIMechE, Innovation Lead for the Future Flight Challenge, UK Research and Innovation.
10th January 2022
Era Shah: Arkwright Alumna and Top 50 Women in Engineering 2021
Arkwright Engineering Scholarships Alumna Era Shah talks about her journey into engineering, and the path that lead to her being recognised as one of the WES Top 50 Women in Engineering 2021.
13th December 2021
The Smallpeice Trust Annual Report is now available to download
The Smallpeice Trust is delighted to announce the publication of this year’s Annual Report, showcasing the incredible work achieved by the Trust and its partners during the 2020/21 academic year. The report focuses on the impact of the Trust in delivering interactive activities to encourage children to study STEM subjects and go onto a career in engineering.
14th September 2021
Virgin Atlantic working with new charity partners to support STEM initiatives for young people
The Smallpeice Trust is delighted to be one of three new charity partners, working with Virgin Atlantic as part of their Passport to Change Programme. Virgin Atlantic has pledged £2.5 million through customer donations over five years to support STEM initiatives with grants, sponsorships, and investments. Working with The Smallpeice Trust, Speakers for Schools, and UK for UNHCR, the airline’s community programme aims to inspire and empower young people from all corners of society to engage with STEM education and build career skills for the future in science, technology, engineering, and maths.
30th June 2021
McLaren Racing forms pioneering alliance to diversify talent in motorsport
McLaren Racing is pioneering a strategic alliance with four expert partners to drive forward a programme of collaborative initiatives to diversify talent in motorsport. The four partners are: Women’s Engineering Society (WES); EqualEngineers; The Smallpeice Trust; and Creative Access.
8th June 2021
Gaining experience in a cutting-edge field of engineering outside the classroom
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) professionals really do work on the edge of innovation; they are solving real-world problems every day and are playing a key role in shaping our future. Here Sophia Carpio, former Arkwright Engineering Scholar and student of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, explores how her experience at one of The Smallpeice Trust’s residential courses in 2018 helped equip her with the insight she needed into the cutting-edge field of nuclear engineering.
4th June 2021
Engineers and the chocolate factory – how engineers are helping change the world
From building skyscrapers, to developing renewable energy technologies and producing confectionery delights for people to enjoy around the world, engineers are working hard behind the scenes to create, make and innovate for today and the future. COVID-19 has, however, shone a much-needed spotlight on the talented engineers, scientists and mathematicians helping solve the big challenges and make a difference in society.
24th May 2021
IET FIRST® LEGO® League partners with Coding Success to inspire the engineers of the futures
IET FIRST® LEGO® League is joining forces with Coding Success, the free STEM educational programme fully funded by BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, to help students take their science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills to the next level in an interactive, global competition.
5th May 2021
Coding Success programme launches to help teachers boost coding and robotics skills
Royal Navy and RAF team up with BAE Systems, fully funding 600 non-selective state schools to take part in programme to excite students about STEM
29th April 2021
Taking young people on a first step towards their CyberFirst journey
Education Scotland is hosting a CLPL webinar on CyberFirst student courses on 10 May. A chance for teachers, parents and carers to hear more about the programme from the CyberFirst delivery team.
31st March 2021
Sponsored Places Available for Smallpeice Online Engineering Courses
The Smallpeice Trust has now launched our summer programme, offering 15 engineering-themed courses for students in Years 8 to 12. These online courses give young people the chance to find out more about different engineering careers, get hands on with interactive projects and learn live from industry experts and academics. COVID-19 means they’ll be virtual again this year, with kit being posted out to homes where needed.
13th January 2021
An update from our CEO
2021 has got off to an unexpectedly mixed start; with the light at the end of the tunnel afforded by the Government’s ambitious vaccination programme being juxtaposed with a third national lockdown and school closures confirmed until February half term at the earliest. While this is not the start to 2021 that any of us hoped or planned for, it is the one we must respond to.
28th September 2020
An update from our CEO
COVID-19 has made it more difficult for charities such as The Smallpeice Trust to continue our traditional programmes for young people, however we have been working hard to develop new ways to engage and inspire young people regarding engineering.
27th August 2020
The RAF takes students on a virtual humanitarian aid mission
In partnership with The Smallpeice Trust charity, the RAF has announced its new virtual online course in ‘Humanitarian Aid Engineering Experience’, tasking young people with delivering support to remote areas in need.
21st April 2020
Message from Dr Kevin P Stenson, CEO of The Smallpeice Trust
In these challenging and uncertain times, I hope you and your families are all keeping safe and well. As Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust, I am reaching out to you as a valued part of our community. As we all consciously move 2 metres apart, in true UK style, we are actually all pulling together to support each other, and the wider countries’ needs.
17th March 2020
CORONAVIRUS (COV-19) UPDATE 17th March
The Smallpeice Trust is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and continue to act on advice from Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Education.
16th March 2020
CORONAVIRUS (COV-19) UPDATE 16th March
The health, safety and wellbeing of students and colleagues is the top priority for The Smallpeice Trust following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
10th March 2020
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
The health, safety and wellbeing of students and colleagues is the top priority for The Smallpeice Trust following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
22nd August 2019
What do engineers do, that you didn’t know they did?
Did you know that some people still think engineers are all male, dressed in overalls and work on some sort of dirty engine? Hard to believe isn’t it? Especially when you think of all the cool and exciting career prospects that can come with a role in engineering. We take a look at some of
22nd August 2019
One Smallpeice step for students, one giant leap for engineering
Do you ever sit and wish you could go back to school? Or just far enough back to change the course of your career? Since working for Smallpeice and attending our courses when I can, I think it all the time! Last week I was over the moon (no pun intended) at being able to
31st July 2019
Arkwright Scholar Takes Giant Leap
–Alumnus Chris Bellamy and Wiivv to Donate to Scholarship– Arkwright Scholarships Trust alumnus and lead engineer at Wiivv Wearables Chris Bellamy is giving back to the programme that kick-started his engineering career. Bellamy and the Wiivv team collaborated with a young scientist to innovate custom space boots, and now they are donating a portion of
31st July 2019
Female engineers lead the way at Warwick University
July 2019 Female engineers lead the way at Warwick University Almost one hundred girls aged 13 – 14, from schools across the UK, benefited from a unique hands-on learning experience at the University of Warwick on the Girls into Engineering residential course. Proudly sponsored by the ERA Foundation, GE, Leonardo, The RAF Charitable Trust
25th July 2019
Royal Holloway hosts budding young female engineers
Over one hundred future female engineers ranging from age 14 up to 16 and from across the UK, benefited from a unique hands-on learning experience at Royal Holloway, University of London. Three, three-day residential programmes were organised by The Smallpeice Trust and supported by Royal Holloway, and The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) to provide
24th July 2019
Birmingham City University host bright young Biomedical engineers
July 2019 Birmingham City University sponsors engineering taster week for young Biomedical engineers From 2nd – 4th July, thirty-eight promising young engineers from across the UK attended a Biomedical Engineering course, sponsored and hosted by Birmingham City University. Organised by The Smallpeice Trust, the three-day residential programme provided 15 and 16-year-old students with an understanding
27th June 2019
Arkwright Scholars make it to Triumph Design Awards 2019 Grand Final
On Saturday 29th June 2019 the national final of the Triumph Design Awards will be held at Triumph’s headquarters in Hinckley, Leicestershire. The competition is open to 16-18-year-old students of a relevant STEM subject (Science. Technology, Engineering. Maths) and entrants have been challenged to design a product to solve a real-world problem. Design engineers from
27th June 2019
Arkwright Scholar soars on International Women in Engineering Day
To celebrate 100 years of the Women’s Engineering Society in the UK, national STEM education charity The Smallpeice Trust is enabling 100 female future leaders in engineering to inspire the next generation of engineers by giving them a free powered glider Think Kit. The 100 female future leaders in engineering are all Arkwright Engineering Scholars
26th June 2019
BRIGHT SPARKS VISIT SULTAN FOR ENGINEERING MASTERCLASS
Press release by Matthew Hibberd Public Relations Manager HMS Sultan HMS Sultan welcomed some of the brightest children from across the UK recently for an engineering masterclass with the Royal Navy and The Smallpeice Trust. The Nuclear Marine Engineering Course saw 50 students take part in a series of practical workshops and lectures provided by
31st May 2019
Four marketeers got on a train…
Last week we had a lovely Marketing team day out to the lovely Docklands area of London, to attend the ‘Engaging Kids and Marketing to Parents’ Conference in the Museum of London. Over twenty top brands who know a thing or two about working with young people and how to convey marketing messages to parents
31st May 2019
Amazing, Arkwright.
It’s not long ago that we celebrated our first year since incorporating the wonderful Arkwright Engineering Scholarships Trust and are thoroughly enjoying working together as one big team. Working as one we are much more likely to succeed in our vision, which is to inspire an increasing number of young people to acquire life, leadershi
29th May 2019
Smallpeice Trust students are Siemens Healthineers Next Big Thing!
Working alongside education charity The Smallpeice Trust, more than fifty brilliant young minds took part in the Siemens Healthineers ‘Next Big Thing’ Challenge grand final at Siemens Healthineers headquarters in Camberley. The students came from ten local schools and in their teams, were tasked with creating a piece of wearable health technology that would assist
15th May 2019
New partnership launched to drive uptake of STEM careers
Article shared from Zenoot.com – https://zenoot.com/new-partnership-launched-to-drive-uptake-of-stem-careers/ STEM Accord, a new partnership created to provide co-ordinated action to inspire more young people, and particularly girls, to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been announced at the 2019 WISE annual conference. STEM Accord has been created by WISE, the ERA Foundation, STEM Learning, Design and
29th April 2019
Khadijah Ismail – BAE Apprentice, and Arkwright Scholar
Shared from BBC News – Judith Burns, Education reporter As a little girl Khadijah Ismail would spend hours watching aeroplanes through the window of the attic bedroom she shared with her sister near Manchester Airport. She even wrote the airport a letter “on fancy paper and everything”, giving her address and asking them to send
29th April 2019
Easter STEM adventures!
It’s still only April (just) and we’ve got an impressive eight courses under our belt! That means we’ve met, interacted with and inspired over 500 students before our summer residential courses begin. I’ve got a feeling that this year is going to be a good one! The main objective of all of our courses is
15th April 2019
Harper Adams host young engineers on a discovery of robotics
From 2nd – 4th April, almost sixty young engineering students ranging from age 13 up to 17, benefited from a unique hands-on learning experience at Harper Adams University. Two, three-day residential programmes were organised by The Smallpeice Trust to provide students with the opportunity to learn about engineering through a series of technical lectures and
25th March 2019
A day in the life…
Working in an office-based role, I don’t get out as much as I’d like to (story of my life with a 2-year-old). So, I jump at the chance to attend any events I get invited to *hint hint* or anywhere I know my help will be welcome and I can contribute. It’s essential in marketing to know your product so it’s imperative
23rd March 2019
Big Bang
I love the Big Bang Fair. You never know what delights you’re going to find but you know you’re never going to be disappointed. I’m not that old (honest) but when you see the technology of today compared to when I was at school, I honestly feel like I must have been born in the stone age.
1st March 2019
Femmes Fortes
So, we’ve had International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11th February), Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (21st February) and next month sees us celebrating International Women’s Day on the 8th March. For this reason, I feel it only fitting (not that I need an excuse), to acknowledge some of the amazing women
25th February 2019
Innovation meets Education
The world is developing at one heck of a rate so it’s important for those in our arena (STEM and the like) to develop too. We at Smallpeice like to stay ahead of the curve and are always looking for opportunities to learn and share.
6th February 2019
ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY CASE STUDY – THE SMALLPEICE TRUST
ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY CASE STUDY – THE SMALLPEICE TRUST Purpose of event: The Smallpeice Trust and Royal Holloway University work together to inspire and support young students’ ambition in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).They regularly run courses for students aged between 12 and 17 on a variety of STEM subjects. In July 2018
10th January 2019
Scholarships are go!
Scholarships are go! As you may or may not know, an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship of its type in the UK. It was created to inspire and nurture school-age students to be the country’s future leaders of the Engineering Profession. The Scholarships are awarded to high-calibre 16-year-old students through a rigorous
10th January 2019
New Years STEMolution!
Word on the street is that we’ve officially launched our Think Kits! Now I’m sure you’ll have heard all about them but let me give you a bit more detail. The clue’s in the name really, it’s a kit…that requires a bit of thought to put together!
21st November 2018
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not that time! Course launch time of course. The time of the year when we’re scurrying about trying to prepare as many courses as possible for you and your lovely students to enjoy. We’re excited to have launched a good solid handful of awesome inspiring exciting!
21st November 2018
A WISE man once said…
Well, it’s been one emotional roller coaster of a month! Launching a timetable of super lit courses is one thing but having our CEO be nominated for an award and having to wait for results is another! Dr Kevin Stenson, CEO Smallpeice Trust (incorporating Arkwright Engineering Scholarships), recently attended the prestigious WISE awards.
1st November 2018
Southern Water STEM Day
Southern Water chief executive Ian McAulay shared his passion for engineering with more than 130 Year 9 pupils (age 13/14) who took part in a day of challenges at Chatsmore Catholic High School, Goring Street, Worthing, on 18 October. The pupils were taking part in a day of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) projects
20th October 2018
Celebrating Ada…
A couple of weeks ago (9th October to be exact) we celebrated Ada Lovelace Day, so it only feels right we should give a shout out to the fascinating character and infamous mathematician that is Ada. Ada Lovelace Day was founded in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson and was created to recognise the achievements of women
20th October 2018
Finding STEM in October
You know once October hits. There’s a nip in the air, the nights (and mornings) are dark, the leaves are crunchy and brown and there’s a smattering of pumpkins all around. There’s also a faint reminder that bonfire night will soon be upon us and all of the excitement that brings. I for one love
20th September 2018
2018, in a nutshell!
2018, in a nutshell! What an awesome, amazing, adventurous and fantabulous year it’s been! It’s been busy, exciting, chaotic and crazy but we’ve done it and we’ve loved every second! We’ve had the pleasure of delivering 438 STEM days in schools and locations across the UK and have reached a staggering 28,054 students in doing
20th September 2018
WISE Man of the Year nomination!
WISE Man of the Year nomination! It’s always nice to gain a little recognition for the things that you invest your time and effort in, and work so hard to do. It’s even more awesome when people external to your organisation recognise it too! Here at the Trust we are enjoying sharing our Chief Exec
23rd August 2018
Something exciting is flying this way…
Summer may be almost over but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop having fun. Quite the opposite, actually! New school year, new classes, new subjects and maybe even new schools and colleges. Whatever it is you’re beginning, enjoy! Here at Smallpeice, we’re almost ready to share with you our new and improved Powered Glider
23rd August 2018
The Summer of STEM
Now they do say a picture tells a thousand words, and if I was writing about all our courses it may take a lot more than that! So instead, here’s a handful of candid photos to show just a tiny snippet of some of the Smallpeice fun we’ve been stirring up this summer! When they