Vulcan education project gets 2025 off to a flying start

School children across the region are benefiting from an educational partnership between Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTTS) and The Work-wise Foundation.

The initiative has got off to a strong start for 2025, hosting three ‘Flying Roadshows’ at primary schools in South Yorkshire during the first three months of the year, with a further seven booked in across South and West Yorkshire for the coming months.

The Flying Roadshow days see the Work-wise Team and Vulcan Volunteers delivering a range of interactive hands on Science, technology, engineering, arts and maths learning activities themed around Aviation, Aerospace and the Theory of Flight.

Using the iconic Vulcan XH558 as the inspiration. The day of activities is designed for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 students with each day tailored to each school’s students’ needs.

The partnership has also seen the Trust and Work-wise join forces with secondary and university students too, with Doncaster UTC taking the crown for the Dr Pleming’s Operation Vulcan design project - named in honour of Dr Robert Pleming, the founding Chief Executive of the VTTS charity – at The Work-wise Foundation’s ‘Get up to Speed with STEM’ event at the end of March.

The project tasked secondary school pupils across the region with designing and building a scale model of a working ejector seat, devising a mechanism that could operate in a safe, environmentally friendly and secure manner.

The entries were presented and demonstrated to a panel of industry experts, with the winning design team then working alongside The Work-wise Foundation, as well as engineers from CBE+, DN4 Innovation and P1 Technology to develop a working model.

Lisa Wild, engineering teacher at Doncaster UTC, said: “Taking part in this competition has allowed our students to apply theoretical knowledge of key STEM principles to both a physical but fun and exciting outcome.

“Throughout the project they have really developed their employability skills, solving problems as a team, working to deadlines and gaining confidence when presenting. The students have really enjoyed working with engineers to really make the project mimic industry, they are really excited to watch their original concept come to life and share their functioning ejector seat with the public/wider audience!”

Students on the University of Sheffield’s Sheffield Engineering Leadership and Services Award (SELSA) were also given the challenge of creating an informative, engaging and inspirational exhibit to be presented at Get up to Speed 2025, utilising a large wing tip from the Avro Vulcan to feature videos and photos of the Vulcan. The group also designed a paper aeroplane activity to demonstrate the physics of flight and the function of control surfaces.

Marc Walters, chief executive of Vulcan to the Sky Trust, said: “Inspiring and educating the next generation by delivering insightful and enjoyable STEM projects is something that sits very close to our hearts at the Trust, so we’re thrilled to have got 2025 off to such a great start with a whole host of educational initiatives and challenges, delivered alongside our good friends and partners at The Work-wise Foundation.”

John Barber, chief executive of The Work-wise Foundation, said: “We’re very proud to be working so closely with the Vulcan to the Sky Trust to engage young people across the region, from primary level right through to university students, hopefully sparking a lifelong interest in STEM and encouraging more students to explore the opportunities the STEM sector holds for career development.”

For more information and for details on how to take part in the projects visit https://work-wise.co.uk/events-and-programmes/vulcan.html

For further information visit www.vulcantothesky.org