Year 12 Student Wins Arkwright Scholarship

We are delighted that Year 12 Student David Badcock has been awarded a prestigious Arkwright Scholarship for Engineering.

Following on from TBSHS alumnus Anish Armani, now studying at  Warwick University, reading Engineering Business Management, who won an Arkwright Scholarship in 2020, David is delighted to have won this prestigious and highly competitive award.

David who is now in Year 12 studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry, first heard about the Arkwright programme from a family friend, before reading about it on the TBSHS Careers Bulletin.

During the Christmas holidays, (which were directly after Year 11 Mocks), David spent his time developing his design & building his project – a spin dryer.  David, who is a keen swimmer, was fed up of the time it took to dry his swimming gear, and wanted to make life easier.

After completing his project, he had to complete and extensive write-up, send photos and negotiate an application form. In the New Year he had to take an additional exam set by the Arkwright Scholarships Trust.

David spent some time talking with Anish and was supported by Mr Blake in Science (Interview practice) and Mr Reynolds in DT who helped with the application process and general advice.

Around Easter time, David was offered and interview with a panel of two Arkwright assessors. Usually these are held at an appropriate University, but due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, it was held over Zoom. David had to prepare a PowerPoint presentation about his project, provide his Mock exam results and discuss his area of interest within the field of engineering (Automotive).

In September, David was offered the Scholarship, which comes with money for him and for TBSHS, plus a sponsor for his area of engineering interest. In his case this is a company connected with the automotive industry at Jaguar-Landrover.

David now receives a financial reward, as does The School plus an invite to an Awards Ceremony in London during half term.

He also gets invited to several ‘Connect’ days over the next few months all in his area of interest – automotive engineering.

David says “I was delighted to receive such a prestigious award after all the work I put in. It will really help me with my future career in engineering. Anyone with an interest in Engineering should definitely go for it; even if you don’t get it, it was such an interesting experience.”

Rob Stark, Assistant Headteacher and Head of 6th Form said “We are delighted for David and this scholarship is a recognition for his hard-work, flair and academic ability. This is a fantastic opportunity and we look forward to hearing more about David’s achievements in the future.”