King’s Oak Students ace the Airbus wing bend challenge

Some of our Year 10 students recently stepped into the shoes of real engineers during an exciting Airbus STEM workshop focused on wing design and strength testing. The challenge? To design and build a strong aircraft wing using Meccano and then put it to the ultimate test with 100g masses.

Working in teams, students followed a structured engineering process:

1. Design – Planning their wing structure for maximum strength and stability.
2. Build – Bringing their ideas to life using Meccano components.
3. Test – Adding weights to see how much their wing could withstand before bending.

The workshop was a fantastic opportunity for students to experience the problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork that define engineering careers. They learned how design choices impact performance and discovered the importance of collaboration in tackling real-world challenges.

The atmosphere was full of energy as students competed to create the strongest wing, with many impressed by how much engineering relies on both science and innovation.

Laura Phillips Head of Middle School & Inclusion said: “A huge thank you to Airbus for inspiring our future engineers and giving them a hands-on taste of the aerospace industry!”