Students from Walton Academy proved that teamwork and creativity can achieve great things when they took part in the Rethinking Futures Construction Lifting Equipment Challenge on Tuesday 23 September. Held at PlantWorx, at the Newark Showground, this is the UK’s largest live construction event.
The challenge saw teams of young people aged 12 to 18 years design and build a working piece of construction lifting equipment using a basic kit of timber, a rotating base unit, nuts, bolts, elastic bands, string and assorted fixings. Their machine then had to pick up small objects, move them, and neatly stack them on the back of a flatbed truck within a 10-minute time limit.
Walton Academy’s team, the youngest at the event with students aged just 12 to 14 years, designed and built “WAANE” (The Walton Crane). Over several months, they worked during lunchtimes and after school, sourcing extra tools such as a saw and drill and learning to use them safely.
The Academy was also the only school to field female students and a leading female staff member, which the team were proud to represent. On the day, their efforts drew the largest crowd of spectators for any school, who cheered as WAANE successfully placed 7 out of 9 objects on the truck including a tennis ball balanced on the roof of the cab.
Out of four available awards, Walton Academy students won Best Under-16 Team, receiving a trophy and 12 tickets to Diggerland. Judges praised their teamwork, focus and the way every member of the team played an active role in the challenge.
Miss Emerald, careers lead at Walton Academy, said:
“This was an incredible achievement by our students, who showed determination, creativity and outstanding collaboration throughout the project. We are extremely proud of the way they rose to the challenge.”
The project not only gave students the chance to put STEM learning into action, but also highlighted the importance of communication, problem-solving and resilience — skills that will serve them well in the future.
