RREC

On Friday the 17th May 2nd year students took part in a “Rapid Response Engineering Challenge” day. This event was based on a hurricane causing devastation in a Southern American country and involved the pupils assuming the roles of disaster relief engineers when they arrived at any international disaster site. The pupils had to simulate creating shelters, investigating weather changes, transporting clean water, generating sanitation flow and creating a meal without any gas or electricity. All of the pupils were enthusiastic and a great time was had by all. We were lucky to have two visitors from the HNC Civil Engineering programme at Stowe College who helped pupils understand the relationship between disaster relief and everyday engineering challenges. All in all this was a successful event which the school is looking forward to hosting next year.

The winning team with the engineers.

Interaction project

The following Doon Academy pupils took part in the East Ayrshire Interaction Project held in East Ayrshire Council HQ on Thursday 31st January: Gareth Kerr, Wendy Roulstone, Carla Strachan, Colin McDonald, Sarah Murdoch, David Gracie, Rory Parker, Katie Roberts and Colin McDonald.

The students created a model of the Doon Valley area which would be used as a portable promotional product to increase tourism in the area. The model was then presented to a group of local dignitaries along with representatives from each secondary school in East Ayrshire.

Doon Academy shared the Kilmarnock College Prize for Partnership due to the nature of the project which focused on promoting the local area and amenities. Well done to all students that took part and to Miss Steele in the Technical department.

Scottish Engineering talk

Head Teacher Mr MacKenzie was delighted to welcome to the school Dr Peter Hughes, Chief Executive of the Scottish Engineering Employers’ Association.
Dr Hughes gave an inspiring and motivating talk to S3-S6 pupils, and those in S2 who will be studying engineering in the school.
Everyone really enjoyed Dr Hughes talk and he was presented with a photograph as a memento of his visit by School Captain Lauren Mitchell.

Kayak building

In the kayak building masterclass pupils, Cameron McFarlane, Ben McMurdo, Stuart Stirling and Josh Taylor, are busy building their 17 foot boat under the guidance of technical assistant Mr. Alan White. The plan is to test the craft in the swimming pool before a full sea launch under the expertise of a qualified mariner. Good luck boys and have a safe voyage!

Rocket car competition

In conjunction with the Bloodhound Rocket Car Project pupils in the Engineering masterclass have been taking part in the rocket car competition. Their brief is to design a scale model of a rocket powered car which can reach a speed of 100 miles per hour. The pupils’ first prototype has had a test run and reached a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour. Well done to the class and good luck in the competition.

Technical deadline

In Technical, Mr. Callaghan, requires all the course work to be completed this week for Graphic Communication and Craft and Design courses.