Brilliant news that "proper" metalwork is coming back into schools, even if the budgets are a bit of a sticking point. I guess this is why we need more dedicated teachers who are passionate enough about their subject to dedicate brainpower and time well beyond their work time to make things happen. Hats off to you!
I recall my secondary school offering Btechs and NVQ's in "woodworking skills" and "performing engineering operations", because the head of tech (formerly head fitter at a cement plant) felt GCSE and A-level " resistant materials" taught an insufficient amount of everything, rather than giving us useful skills.
We were fortunate to have retained and maintained the facilities to make it possible, with the upper school workshop containing a big donkey saw, large turret lathes, milling machines (CNC and Manual), and a hot work area equipped for welding, forging and casting, though I don't recall ever hearing of anyone making a sand-cast part.
Alas, people who wanted to do a-levels were barred by a governor decision... (I wanted to do maths, physics, chemistry and Btech engineering but was forced into taking further mathematics instead).
I recall my secondary school offering Btechs and NVQ's in "woodworking skills" and "performing engineering operations", because the head of tech (formerly head fitter at a cement plant) felt GCSE and A-level " resistant materials" taught an insufficient amount of everything, rather than giving us useful skills.
We were fortunate to have retained and maintained the facilities to make it possible, with the upper school workshop containing a big donkey saw, large turret lathes, milling machines (CNC and Manual), and a hot work area equipped for welding, forging and casting, though I don't recall ever hearing of anyone making a sand-cast part.
Alas, people who wanted to do a-levels were barred by a governor decision... (I wanted to do maths, physics, chemistry and Btech engineering but was forced into taking further mathematics instead).
