STEM IN SCHOOLS
Engineering is the use of our knowledge of Science, Maths and DT to solve a practical problem.
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. (Confucius 551-479BC)
As it says in the website name you get Jeremy King an Engineer to run activities in your school! I design and run activities that pose practical problems and are hands on learning experiences; in addition participants use their life skills like teamwork, communication, logical thinking and creativity. This activity could be building a Shelter large enough for six students to get into at the same time or controlling the model of an automatic train using circuits.
I introduce over 8000 students a year to Engineering and still get a buzz from it, as do the vast majority of the students I work with. With a recent survey of evaluations of 2616 students they were asked to rate the activity, 74% ticked Excellent, 20% ticked Good, 6% ticked OK and 0.2% rated it poor (6 students, guess which ones did not win a competition?). With the teachers in those same 46 schools when asked did the programme meet the students needs 100% answered Yes.
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Primary school activities are mainly aimed at the QCA schemes of work, and can easily be adapted to a creative curriculum. Cross curricula can be fun, how about Greek CAM KNEX Chariots! The main subject areas covered are Science, Mathematics, DT and Citizenship; however I have run activities in Art, Geography and History ‘weeks’!
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Secondary School activities can emphasise any or all of Engineering Careers or Work Related Learning or Enterprise or just fun learning.
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In Special needs schools I adjust the activities to suit your students.
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For Education Business Partnerships I mainly run Enterprise or Career Taster/Industry days.
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For Companies I can help you with your Corporate Social Responsibilities by running activities in your linked or local schools or designing a bespoke activity linked to your line of business. I can even train your staff to run the activities themselves. If you want a different teambuilding, hands on, activity day let me know.
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Events, I can run a stand (even outdoors in the summer) at your event being an open day at your park, opening day, fete etc.
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Youth Organisations, e.g. Scout/Guide/Beavers/Brownie/Youth etc. groups, I can run activities for your groups or hire you the kit.
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Craft Clubs/Adult Learning Difficulty Groups, hire or buy the STIXX machine on a ‘hire purchase’ type arrangement and repay me as you sell STIXX made stuff!
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I also sell the ‘STIXX’ newspaper rolling machines with its endless potential for creating Structures, Art and Design.
I charge £300.00 per day (apart from Enterprise) plus travel and material costs. I am happy to work with multiple classes at the same time and can normally fit three activities into one day! Depending on activities chosen, with a single form entry Primary School, by doubling up classes; I can work with all classes from years one to six in a single day. With Secondary Schools I can work with an entire year group over the course of a day. My average daily cost is £450.00. For this you get a fully professionally qualified Engineer with all the material and equipment that your students will need to learn about Engineering and polish their life skills.
It is easiest to contact me with activities you would like, numbers and year group; I’ll send you back a proposed programme and costs. The most popular activities in Primary schools are Chairs that can be sat on and Shelters large enough for the whole team to get into. Both activities use the newspaper rolling STIXX machines. In Secondary Schools the most popular are Enterprise where the students work in teams as a company to ‘Design, Manufacture and Market a product’. In Electronic Control the students work with electrical circuits then a programmable computer chip to control a model of a driverless train to stop at various stations then reverse back to the starting point, all automatically.
I worked as a Chartered Civil Engineer for thirty years, building motorways, power stations, multi-storey office blocks etc. Fifteen years ago I joined a voluntary organisation called Neighbourhood Engineers (current name STEMNET, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths network) to promote STEM careers in schools by running activities. Six years ago when I retired early, a couple of teachers suggested I could try it as a business. Initially I thought I would do a couple of days a month, but now it is a full time job!! I am an unashamed, enthusiastic Engineering zealot and always aim to get the students to achieve far more than they think possible! Without Engineering we would still be living in caves hoping to chase down a passing wild animal with a rock in our hands!
A poem from a year 6 student who built a Motorised Fairground Ride:
Today I met an Engineer called Jeremy King.
He came to our class and did a wonderful thing.
He showed us how to make and we designed a Carousel.
Using plastic and wood and other things as well.
We used equipment such as a vice and a drill.
And also a glue gun to create a seal.
I would like to thank you for all of your help.
And hopefully one day I will design something real for myself.