Education
We are a key provider and coordinator of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education activities and support in Essex. These are for students at school and home, and are designed to both stimulate an interest in STEM and to open possible career paths.
» See upcoming CSES events for schools, children and families
Including our flagship annual TEXPO, projects and online competitions throughout the year.
Out-of-school clubs, masterclasses and projects to enhance learning with fun, practical activities.
Financial and in-kind support for your STEM Club, project or activity at school.
Interactive conferences attended by students, industry partners and the public sector.
A FREE annual CSES/ARU lecture from a high-profile speaker, open to all schools.
Careers guidance, STE(A)M activities, ideas and other material for all ages both in school and at home.
Take inspiration from what others have been getting up to.
Talk to us about dedicated support, resources, projects and competitions for your school.
These lectures provide a great insight to what technologies are up and coming as they are presented by the engineers who are working on such technologies. Many of these are at the cutting edge and provide an insight into what we will be engineering ten years into the future. As well as providing lectures the Engineering our Future events also welcome stands from local engineering companies to exhibit their current projects and also to provide information into how they got involved with engineering and how you could also become involved.
By James, Year 12
I have been fortunate enough to be able to attend two courses with the Smallpeice Trust. Each was an incredibly informative insight into the world of engineering, and they have together helped me in choosing my path through Sixth Form - guiding my options choices - and in cementing my desire to pursue a career in engineering. During these courses, I had opportunities to speak to many professional engineers, across varied disciplines of engineering, and was fortunate enough to be able to visit a Power Station, along with a Gas Turbine Station - both on a course sponsored by National Grid. These were fascinating experiences, visiting sites which would regularly not be open to the general public.
CSES Schools' Engineering and Technology Competition by Ollie, year 12 from KEGS
This competition is a great way to show off a science or engineering project that you have been working on. This could be Design and Technology coursework (for example I entered my year 11 electronics coursework), a project from a school club, or something you’ve been working on at home. There are many categories to suit all different kinds of work. During the day, you spend time explaining and demonstrating your project to the judges (usually various engineering professionals) as well as your fellow students at the event. You also get a chance to see what other people have done. This can be great if you are looking for inspiration for future projects, especially if you look at what students older than you have done. You can enter alone or as a team, and if you’re good enough, there are significant prizes to be won. If you think you have a relevant project, I would encourage you to enter.
CSES Schools' Engineering and Technology Competition by Joe, year 10 from KEGS
I'm Joe, and I took part in the 2011 CSES Schools' Engineering and Technology Competition. I entered a project I had done at an after school science and engineering club at my school. We were required to design and build a mode of transport for less than £10, and produce a project folder fully evaluating the steps we took to build our vehicle, and analyse the final product. I also put this forward for a silver CREST Award. My friend Dan and I looked at several types of transport to build, but decided on a hovercraft. Designing this hovercraft was a good way of developing our design skills, both on CAD and on paper. After building several prototypes, we decided on the one below.
Being able to build and test these prototypes was a great, practical way of learning vital Technology and Engineering skills such as problem solving. Completing the project folder also taught us a lot about evaluation and presentation, and about the harsh reality of deadlines! It was very fun building and painting our vehicle, and the sense that we'd really achieved something was brilliant.
We took our vehicle and the 30-page project folder to the judging event at Anglia Ruskin University, organised by CSES, and talked at great lengths to several of the judges about what we had built, how we had built it and what we had learned along the way. It was great being able to tell people about what we had done, and to meet and talk to engineers and learn about the opportunities that are available to us. It was an added bonus to the day that we won our category! We really enjoyed taking part in this competition, and feel like we'd really achieved something. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Engineering or thinks that it's something they'd maybe like to do as a career, as you can learn a lot, and I'd like to thank CSES for the opportunity.
By Jonah, Year 11, Great Baddow High School
This is the first year that my school has entered anyone for an Arkwright Scholarship, and it's been challenging as it was all new to us, and we had GCSE exams at the same time, but it's also been really enjoyable.
When I first read about it, it appealed to me because it was a chance to take my interest in design and technology beyond school. It's a highly regarded achievement which makes it something to aim for, and whether or not you succeed it is good practice for exams, applications and interviews in the future.