Scholarship success for Cranleigh School pupils

Two Cranleigh pupils have been awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, the most prestigious of its kind granted for Engineering in the UK.

The scholarship nurtures and inspires talented 16-year-old students to be the country’s next leaders within the profession. Following the rigorous selection process, Josh R. and Zac P. were both selected to be supported through their A-Levels by the Trust.

Both attended the award ceremony at the EICC in Edinburgh on the afternoon of 8th November, where the honour was bestowed upon the country's new Scholars. The ceremony took place in the presence of parents, their sponsoring organisations and VIPs from both industry and academia.

Talented individuals who are selected are benefitted through sponsorship via a commercial company, trade association, professional institution, university, armed service, government organisation, worshipful company, charitable trust or personal donor. Support is offered in various forms, such as through work experience, financial support, personal mentoring, and a wide variety of enrichment opportunities that offer both insight and networking opportunities.

Following their achievement and celebrated ceremony, Josh and Zac answered a few questions about being a Scholar and what it means to them:

What does it mean to be an Arkwright Associate?

Being an Arkwright associate means I am asked to attend various events and opportunities involving stem careers. I have also been given a sponsor and personal mentor who will help me through my time at university and the rest of my time at sixth form. Being an Arkwright scholar is one of my biggest achievements and will definitely serve as a brilliant foundation for my future.

How did you become and Arkwright Associate? What was involved in the selection process

My design teacher Mr Taylor asked if I would like to take part and I was very keen to participate. The first step was to write an application form through which the people at Arkwright chose the students to partake in the exam. We then sat the exam which was sent off and marked, if you managed to pass the pass mark for the exam you moved on to the interview stage which was carried out in multiple universities around the country. The interview stage was the most rigorous stage with only a handful of students from each interview event receiving the award.

What made you want to apply?

I have always loved engineering and stem topics. I love the practical aspect of design and I love creating things with a use in your everyday life. The Arkwright scholarship program was so interesting to me because it offered to help me in the future with a topic I am passionate in.

What does this award mean for you?

This award is tremendously important to me, I think it will help me throughout the next few years to encourage my passion of engineering as well as help me with any questions or problems I might have in a topic or project. I have already received so many incredible invitations to attend different events such as a course where you learn to build a radio receiver.

Who is your sponsor and how will they be supporting you?

Lancaster University is my sponsor and they will be helping me by providing me with advice and a mentor who will be in contact with me and vice versa for any question I might have. Lancaster University has also provided me with some money in order to start some projects at home.

What do you hope to gain from the scholarship?

I hope to gain a better understanding of the world of engineering. I also hope to learn some skills and some knowledge of multiple different topics within engineering.

Would you encourage others to apply and why?

I would encourage absolutely anyone interested in engineering to apply for the Arkwright scholarship, it is one of the most important achievement I have ever had the pleasure to receive because it opens up so many incredible