Our Specialism

Our Specialism at Chiltern Academy is: Engineering

Our vision at Chiltern Academy is to…

extend the range of opportunities available to pupils which best meet their needs
show excellent standards of teaching and learning in the specialist subjects
develop and shape the school’s character through our specialisms
benefit other schools and the wider community in the area
strengthen the links between our school and private and charitable sector

Our Specialism...

In ENGINEERING, our curriculum is designed to:

INSPIRE MINDS BY:

giving pupils relevant role models in engineering.
working with national & international engineering firms to produce schemes of work.
making every unit of work explicitly link to industry.
introducing pupils to the range of future career options in engineering and removing their misconceptions about the subject.
providing as much enrichment as possible through extra curricular clubs trips with our pupils as possible.
exposing pupils to the latest engineering stories via an engineering Blog.

BUILD FUTURES BY:

improving pupils computer literacy with the latest computer aided design software and manufacturing processes.
getting pupils the practical skills they will need to succeed in further education and apprenticeships.
closing the gender gap in the subject. Offering lots of possibilities for both genders in Engineering through university visits and trips.
developing pupils' presentation skills so they can express themselves and their ideas coherently.
making pupils sustainability conscious in all they do.

Engineering at Chiltern Academy: Where Innovation Meets Excellence

Our Engineering Department embodies the school's mission of "Inspiring Minds and Building Futures" through exceptional achievements and industry-leading opportunities

Key Highlights:

Oversubscribed specialist subject with outstanding student outcomes
13% of students achieving grade 9 (compared to national 2.2%)
35% female cohort, growing to 45% in upcoming year
Notable Achievements:
Arkwright Scholarship recipients (Hanin A, Alesia M, Sreesha Sri R)
Industrial Cadets Awards (Blue Energy and Hydro Warriors teams)
Multiple prestigious work experience placements (GKN Aerospace, Foster + Partners)
Industry Connections.
Strong partnerships with leading engineering companies
Real-world project experiences that transform student potential
Our Vision: Empowering students to become innovative problem-solvers, future engineers, and industry leaders

F1 in Schools Regional Champions & National Finalists

This year three teams entered and went along to the regional tournament.

Team SH1FT3R won the event on the day. They produced an excellent pit display, delivered a good presentation and had the fastest car. All 6 pupils are taking Engineering at Year 10, across both our options available. They attended the National Finals Event and came 17th Overall. Our other two teams did very well in 3rd and 5th position with a selection of year 9 students producing the other two teams. They will be eager to compete again next year…

Industrial Cadets Winners 2024

Last year was our first year entering the Industrial Cadets Bronze Award. Students get the chance to develop key skills for learning, life and work and inform their future career paths and the exciting STEM opportunities available to them. Aligned with the Curriculum for Excellence and the Gatsby Careers Benchmarks, it enhances the work students complete in their academic education. It is also competitive within the region, and this year 45 teams entered including some very prestigious schools in the north of London. The pupils had to complete a research, design and make challenge, which resulted in them presenting to members of industry, and putting together a group written report which was submitted for review by top engineering professionals.

We were invited to the celebration event at Watford Grammar School for Boys where our teams displayed their work and listened to some fascinating talks from companies such as Barhale and Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. Pupils also had the chance to network with professionals from other industries. Out of the three awards available, our students won two of them, and came runners up in the third. Their hard work has definitely paid off and their industry mentors were incredibly impressed by them.

Winners of the Innovation Award

Team Name: Blue Energy

Team Members: Naeem B, Albert P, Ashton M, Jozef O & Ridhan H

Winners of the Teamwork Award

Team Name: Hydro Warriors

Team Members: Emilia K, Yuktesh A, Edel Y, Maksymilian W, Scarlett R, Laana H,

Industrial Cadets Winners 2024

Chiltern Academy Runners Up of the 'Overall Award'

Team Name: Vonu

Team Members: Mia S, Abbie H-W, Uarda I, Charlotte W, Sriya S, Miftahul A

This year we are entering two new teams who have begun their journeys, and both teams will receive the same level of industry support.

Mr Nelmes, Head of Engineering

Royal Papworth Hospital -Engineering Design Challenge

Last year’s year 10 Engineering Design students were asked to design a product for Royal Papworth. They required a bespoke dual bottle holder for when they were performing heart surgery which held a specialist liquid. The one they had was handmade over 35 years ago. The year 10 students were tasked with this by a senior perfusionist at Royal Papworth. The photos show the winning design being used and subsequently Royal papworth have ordered 10 from us.

The winning design was from Daniel Nezaj, he produced multiple iterations toward a solution and thought carefully about how the product would be used, and recognised the importance of speed to take these bottles in and out of the holder with tubes attached. An excellent design that will actually contribute to saving lives!

Mr Nelmes - Head of Engineering

Autodesk Design & Make Summit

One of our outstanding ex Year 11 pupils, Noorulain, recently had the honour of speaking at the Autodesk Design and Make Summit held in London. This invitation came as a result of her impressive participation in the F1 in Schools programme, where she demonstrated exceptional skill and dedication. Adding to her list of accomplishments, Noorulain has recently secured a coveted Aerospace Engineering Apprenticeship at GKN Aerospace.

Mr Nelmes - Head of Engineering

“The Autodesk design and make summit was an amazing opportunity for me as a young individual looking to develop her knowledge within engineering .It provided me with the chance to network with major industry leaders and learn more about the key issues they look to solve within the field of Engineering.

Being able to speak on stage with a panel of amazing engineers and STEM ambassadors showed me how much effort the industry leaders are willing to put in so the newer generation can truly enjoy the fields of STEM. There willingness to take our views so they can change the engineering fields and make them better for us truly inspires me.

I believe such events are key for students so they can look towards different pathways in the future. It also allows us to be part of the change and have our voices heard by industries that we may want to go into. This event made me understand the vast amount of opportunities that we can look towards. Overall, the summit will always remind me of why I want to go into engineering and the inspiring individuals who I can learn from within engineering.”

Noorulain - Alumni

Key Departmental Highlights 2024/2025

AQA GCSE Engineering: 100% achievement of 9-5 grades
OCR Engineering Design: Outperformed national average by 12%.
Exceptional Unit R038 Performance: 67.9% average vs. national 53.3%
Student Success Metrics:
3 level 2 Distinction* grades awarded
28 out of 32 candidates achieved Level 2 Pass or higher
Pupil Premium students outperformed non-Pupil Premium peers in terms of improvement.

Rotary Tournament

Each year we are now entering the Luton Rotary Tournament and sending three teams of year 9 pupils to compete.

The tournament is designed to stimulate the interest of students in design and technology and to improve their personal skills and team building to meet the needs of industry.

Mr Nelmes - Head of Engineering

GKN Aerospace Work Experience

Chiltern Academy is proud to announce its developing partnership with GKN Aerospace, a global leader in aerospace engineering. Recognising the excellence of our Engineering department and the impressive outcomes of our GCSE pathway, GKN Aerospace has offered 15 of our top engineering students a bespoke work experience programme. This follows the outstanding performance of last year's Year 10 pupils during their work experience with the company. The students were required to apply for these highly sought-after placements, highlighting their passion and achievements.

The bespoke work experience programme provides hands-on experience across different departments and roles, including mechanical engineering, design and technology, and operations. Our students will have the opportunity to shadow engineers, complete real-life tasks, and network with professionals to gain invaluable career development insights. This immersive experience will equip them with practical skills and a deeper understanding of the aerospace industry.

Mr Nelmes - Head of Engineering

Foster + Partners Work Experience

Narinder Sagoo is a world renowned architect who is a senior partner at Foster + Partners. They are responsible for some of the most amazing architectural projects in the world, including Wembley, The Gherkin, Apple Park etc. They are arguably the most admired architectural firm in the world, and are always ranked the UK’s number one.

Having reached out to Narinder, i have now arranged a work experience placement for one of our top year 10 students for this academic year. She will get to experience work there and will find out about the possibility of applying for apprenticeships. After a very positive discussion with narinder, he was very keen to support our school with this and I will be hoping to secure a recurring work placement each year to reserve for a pupil that shows effort interest and talent in the field.

Mr Nelmes - Head of Engineering

Chiltern Academy Engineering - Pupil Platform