Celebrating young achievement at the 2019 High Sheriff Engineering Awards

Dignitaries, successful students and proud teachers and parents descended on Abingdon & Witney College yesterday evening (July 2), to celebrate the achievements of the brightest future engineering students from across the county’s schools and colleges.

The High Sheriff Engineering Awards – organised in partnership with Lucy Group, The Engineering Trust and Abingdon & Witney College – seek to recognise outstanding young people in Oxfordshire who excel in Engineering, Design Technology or Resistant Materials.

This year, the Awards took place at Abingdon & Witney College’s Advanced Skills Centre, a high-tech hub for engineering and degree-level students, the ideal venue for the hopeful nominees.

Lady Sylvia Jay of Ewelme, the current High Sheriff for Oxfordshire, was there to present the awards, alongside fellow dignitaries including the Mayor of Faringdon Cllr Dr Mike Wise, the Mayor of Abingdon Cllr Charlie Birks and Cllr Margaret Crick, Chairman of the Vale of White Horse.

There were five categories for which more than 60 student nominations were received, with the winners from these categories in the running for an Overall Winner award.

The finalists were from the following schools:

– St Birinus School

– Burford School

– Marlborough School

– UTC Oxfordshire

– Abingdon & Witney College

– Chipping Norton School

– Lord William’s School

– Henley College

– Abingdon School

Exciting prizes included £1,000 for each winning student’s school, an iPad for each winning student and a mini iPad for each runner-up. Several students were also commended and each received a certificate.

The list of categories and winners for this year’s High Sheriff Awards were:

• 14-15-year-old Outstanding Student – Oliver Pickles, St Birinus

• 14-15–year-old Outstanding Achievement – Daniel Green, St Birinus
• 16-18–year-old Outstanding Student – Sanjit Raman, Lord William’s
• 16-18–year-old Outstanding Achievement – Katie Blundell, Chipping Norton
• Oxfordshire Young Female Engineer of the Future – Alexandra Winch, Henley College
• Overall Winner – Katie Blundell

In his welcoming address Richard Dick, the CEO and Group Chairman of award sponsor, Lucy Group Ltd., said:

“Recent Government figures showed that nearly 180,000 newly–trained engineers were needed every year in the UK and currently there is a shortfall of around 50,000, thus providing great career opportunities for young people.

Only about 12% of those currently engaged in engineering posts are female, so it’s particularly encouraging to have 20% female entrants for these awards this year –well done Oxfordshire!”

He continued: “We live in exciting time for engineers and scientists of the future, thanks to the challenges provided by the necessity of a low carbon environment; renewable energy and smart grids, electric vehicles, Smart City Systems – these are all amazing opportunities.

All of you who have won awards today have already shown you have the skills to potentially play a vital part in our changing world – and I’m sure you will.”

(July 2019)