Cynffig has taken part in the Engineering Education Scheme (Wales) competition annually for many years now. The competition is open to Year 12 students studying in College and Sixth Forms and annually about 100 teams from across Wales compete for a range of prizes.

The competition pairs school teams of up to 7 with a manufacturing company and the company gives the school team a design brief - usually to solve a 'live' (that is actual, not made up for the competition) manufacturing problem. Teams are then given approximately 6 months to research the design problem, propose a range of solutions and then derive a prototype outcome which will solve the given issue. 

A substantial formal report is submitted by the team in March and the team usually attends a EESW Finals Competition in April where they will man a display stand and formally present their solution to a team of industry experts and (hopefully) go forward to win an award at the closing ceremony. 

The report can be submitted as a substantial part of the Welsh Baccalaureate Enterprise and Employability Skills Challenge Certificate. Which of course means UCAS points should you wish to apply for university. 

Taking part is a challenging but rewarding experience which will give you a unique opportunity to meet a range of people from the world of industry and employment and apply skills you didn't know you had. You could find yourself convincing a CFO (chief financial officer) to give the green light to funding an ambitious real-world manufacturing investment. How many 17 year olds can say that?