Weymouth students developed their problem-solving skills when they took part in an engineering competition, .

The annual event, held at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, gives students an insight into a career in engineering and the importance of working as part of a team to develop ideas.

In the day-long challenge, students from the Wey Valley School were tasked to design and build a mock-up control system for the wings and steering of an aircraft, complete with electronic signals to show that the system was operating correctly.

Engineers and pilots, mentored the teams, offering advice and awarding prizes for the most effective solution to the task.

Wey Valley student, Josh Dean aged 15 said: “I really enjoyed the challenge and the chance to test out my skills outside of the classroom. I’m keen on engineering so this was a great chance to meet and work with real engineers.”

Bethany Kimber, who wants to go on to work in aeronautical engineering, said the event was perfect confirmation that she was following the right career path.

“I have known that I wanted to work in this area of engineering for a while now, and meeting the mentors at the event was exciting. To see that some of the engineers are female has really inspired me,” she said.

Chris Newman, design technology teacher said: “We are very proud to support students who want to attend events such as this, and to see them applying the skills they learn in their lessons.”