STUDENTS from Wey Valley School in Weymouth took on the challenge to design and build an ejector seat to shoot a small teddy bear our of an aeroplane test rig.

Year ten students were given first-hand experience on working on a real-life engineering challenge at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, now part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, where they achieved the British Science Association's CREST Discovery Award.

The day visit was offered to students who had expressed an interested in pursing a career in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sector.

Manager of the 14-19 age group at Wey Valley School, Mary Critchell, said: "Earning the CREST Award provides our students with evidence of the extended skills they gained on their day in Yeovilton, and will be invaluable in illustrating to potential employers and universities what these students are capable of, beyond their academic achievements."

At the budding engineers day students learnt how ejector seats have developed over the last century and looked to the future with the new Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carriers and F35b aircraft.

The students were then given a talk on ejection seats from a retired Fleet Air Arm Observer who had himself ejected from an aircraft in 1966.

This then led to the students creating model ejection seats from scratch with a range of materials from which they had to buy in a 'shop'.

Student Alex Stevenson said: "The day was great fun but also gave us a good insight into what is involved in a real-life engineering design project."

Classmate Beth McSevney said: "We really enjoyed getting stuck into the design challenge. Working in teams probably led to more interesting design solutions, and I genuinely feel I’ve gained skills that will be useful in the future."

The excitement of the day was drawn to a close as teams presented their costed designs to a panel of judges, including experts from Bournemouth University and BAE Systems, and were tested using Pilot Ted.

The 14 and 15-year old students were assessed throughout the day on a range of technical factors as well as their communication, teamwork and presentation skills and had to ensure their designs included a safety indicator and a safety release mechanism.

Judges also took into account whether Pilot Ted flew high enough to escape the test aircraft.

All the team members were awarded with the British Science Association's CREST Discovery Award following their project.

Learning and Public Programming Officer at the museum, Sarah Morgan said: "The Wey Valley School teams performed well with creating working models capable of saving Pilot Ted. Both teams demonstrated excellent team work and communication skills and should be very proud of their final models."