For the last eight years, students at Backwell School have been discovering and enjoying engineering thanks to a dedicated teacher with a vision to create a life-size replica of Bloodhound’s cockpit. A number of children who attended the after-school Bloodhound Club have since gone on to study and work in engineering, directly inspired by the project.
Gregory Brees, joint head of Design & Technology at Backwell School in Portishead, Bristol, started the Bloodhound Club after the Bloodhound team visited the school with the full-size replica of the car in 2011. The impressive, hand-built replica cockpit, designed solely from photographs, is now complete.
Backwell School visit 2011
There’s no better way to demonstrate how inspirational this club has been than to hear from former Backwell students, so we’ve included some testimonials from them below.
We’d like to thank Gregory Brees for his amazing, inspirational venture and to the school for supporting the students this way!
Tell us your stories
If you have any examples of how Bloodhound has inspired students to explore and pursue science, technology, engineering and/or maths, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
How the Bloodhound Club changed my life
Peter Norrish, mechanical design apprentice, Cavendish Nuclear
Peter Norrish in his school days
I have long had an interest in STEM and often attend car shows and events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This interest increased throughout school as I was given the opportunity to join in with activities such as attending the Farnborough Air Show and joining in with the school’s Bloodhound project.
I joined the Backwell School Bloodhound Club a year or two into the project, by which point a basic wooden shell had already been produced, with the final aim being a life-sized cockpit. I remember being involved in creating the dashboard, working with a drawing given to us by the club leader Mr Brees. We created dials and fixed in switches, all labelled to be as faithful as possible to the real car.
Peter Norrish today
Later on in the project, the cockpit was cut into sections to make it easier to move around. I remember suggesting the addition of simple cut-outs in the sides of the sections to act as handles, which greatly helped and also allowed more people to work on the car in smaller sub-groups. As an older member of the group I enjoyed sharing some tips and helping younger member s of the club that were passionate about DT and wanted to join in with the after-school activity.
After completing A-Levels in Product Design, Maths and Physics, and sadly leaving the Bloodhound Club behind, last year I started an apprenticeship with Cavendish Nuclear (part of the Babcock group) and now enjoy working and learning in a professional workplace. I can distinctly recall talking about my involvement in Bloodhound through school, and my interest in it outside of education, in the interview that successfully got me the job! As part of my job I now work with 3D CAD models and carry out engineering calculations – all things I can remember starting many years ago at school and hoping that I could one day use in a career.
Matthew Trump, apprentice, Rolls-Royce
In Year 7 I had the opportunity to join an after-school club run by Mr Brees, which aimed to build a life-size model of the cockpit section of Bloodhound SSC. In Year 8 I started Product Design lessons with Mr Brees, but continued to spend an hour and a half after school on a Wednesday building the car. I carried on doing this all the way until Year 11 alongside taking Product Design for GCSE. Some of the parts that I contributed to include: ladder, canopy, dashboard, painting and the finishing touches.
Backwell school’s finished cockpit
Taking part in this project was the first step for me in considering engineering as a career.
Also at school, Mr Brees organised a couple of aviation days where lots of engineers from many companies, such as Rolls-Royce and Airbus, attended. During the day we got into groups with an engineer and built model aeroplanes for a competition in the evening. This is what sparked my interest in aeronautical engineering.
Because of this, I applied for and got an apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce in defence and operations in which I could be building part of an EJ200 engine, which is the same as the one that powers the Bloodhound SSC – I am really proud of this!
Oliver Lake, BEng Mechanical Engineering student at Swansea University
In 2011 a full size replica of Bloodhound SSC came to visit Backwell School: this was what first got me interested in engineering. I then joined the after-school Bloodhound club run by my DT teacher Mr Brees, where my interest continued as we were constructing a full-size replica of the cockpit.
Inside Backwell school’s cockpit
I continued to attend the club every week until I finished my GCSEs, after which I decided to study Maths, Physics and Product Design at A-level with the aim of going on to study Mechanical Engineering. I now in my second year at Swansea University studying for a BEng degree.
Jonathan Evans, BEng Mechanical Engineering student at Swansea University
Jonathan Evans age 15
Initially I had no idea what I wanted to do as a job, but I was curious about how things worked and I knew that I wanted to solve problems.
Being part of Bloodhound Club for over three years taught me a great deal, including how to think logically when encountering problems and how to foresee problems that might arise in future. I learnt how to work with others in a team and how to discuss my concerns or ideas. I was always looking forward to milestones and realised I loved it when you could see your work go into something very practical and visual!
Jonathan Evans age 20
I also learnt the value of hard work and the importance of doing what you love. I became someone that wanted to always be learning, thinking through issues and coming up with solutions.
Along with my studies, all of this led me to pursue a career in engineering. I’m now studying Mechanical Engineering at Swansea University, through which I’m currently on a placement year with Cummins Ltd.
I’m so glad that I got involved in the Bloodhound Club. It taught me a lot and has inspired me to find a career that’s right for me. I’d recommend having a go at something similar to anyone!