Two Kesgrave High School students have been accepted onto a prestigious national engineering scholarship after taking part in a rigorous application process.
Ewan Alley and Nathan Telford began their application for the Arkwright Scholarship in December last year.
They sent off a CV and cover letter before taking a two-and-a-half hour problem-solving exam and eventually a face-to-face interview.
The scholarship is awarded to those who show exceptional potential and a real interest in pursuing a career in engineering.
Mr Telford, who is 16 years old, has a particular interest in aerospace engineering and his scholarship will be sponsored by the RAF.
He said: “I wanted to apply for the scholarship because it will help me in the future to get into university and get a job.
“During the application I had to take an exam where I had to work out engineering problems and then I had an interview in Cambridge.
“It’s good that we have a chance to get work experience and work with a company to help me become a better engineer.”
The students will receive £600 over two years as part of the scholarship as well as work experience opportunities with some of the country’s biggest engineering firms such as Mercedes.
Tom Corker who teaches the students engineering at Kesgrave High School, said: “It’s critical that we create a new generation of engineers.
“Companies are calling out for them and with the uncertainty of Brexit that will only increase.
“That is why we as a school developed a long history of engineering excellence.
“There are only 500 students that get onto this scholarship in the whole country and most schools won’t have one so to have two that currently go to Kesgrave and one student who applied while at the school but has now moved on, is pretty remarkable. We as a school are very proud of Nathan and Ewan.”
Mr Alley, who is also 16, will be sponsored by the Nuclear Institute during his scholarship.
He said: “It’s a really good scholarship to have on my CV and hopefully it will help me get into a good job.
“Without our teachers we would not have got onto the scholarship. The staff at school have really helped us.”
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