On Monday 18 January, Flt Lt Hazel came into school and presented Luke Cushen with an RAF Sixth Form Scholarship.  These awards are given to students who have expressed a keen interest in joining the RAF either after their university course or on completion of A levels.  These scholarships are difficult to gain and only 1 in 5 applicants is successful.  As well as a keen interest in the RAF applicants are also judged on academic ability, involvement in activities and fitness.

The Engineering Diploma students were given the task of making a school clock that was to mark the retirement of Mr Peacock as Headmaster at QEGS.  They had to make initial decisions:

• Where should the clock go?
• What design will be suitable for the brief?
• What materials could be used?
  

It was decided that the clock should go on the Art Block wall facing the field so everybody would know the time during break and lunch.  There was an intention that the time could be seen from anywhere on the school field.
The initial design showed an old design of the school logo rising up to a castle with horns and this idea was developed into the final solution. But how big should the design be?  

First prototypes were made of the shape at 1.5m high, but it was decided that this was too small.  So the design size was increased to 3.0m x 1.8m.  To be able to make the clock it had to be divided into sections and make use of the blue background.  Then material could be cut to the required size.

It was decided to use 3mm thick steel that could be cut on the plasma profiler.  So the finished design was drawn on 2D design and then the individual pieces separated out. This is a screenshot of the finished drawing in 2D design

On Friday 29th January, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School was visited by Colonel Granville Thomas, and his wife, in order to explain to Year 8 pupils what life was like in the English Civil Wars, which took place between 1642-1651. He explained how people decided whose side they were on (the King’s or Parliament’s – or neither) and how brothers fought against brothers; sons against fathers.