Highways England is building bridges to inspire the next generation of engineers at Minety and Malmesbury schools though their Insights programme.

The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) event is one of a variety of educational activities across the South West. Maria Madeley, a primary teacher and science co-ordinator at Minety School, spent a week with Highways England earlier in the year, learning about the engineering and geotechnical work around structures and roads across the strategic network.

She used this to build a curriculum around road building for her Year 5 and Year 6 pupils, and after Highways England spent a day teaching the children about smart motorways, bridge building and the geology of rocks, the collaboration culminated in a British Science Association-funded How Real Stuff Works event at Malmesbury School

Ongoing and planned engagement with schools and colleges in Wiltshire, Somerset and Cornwall is helping to highlight engineering opportunities within the highways industry and to inspire young people to consider engineering as a rewarding career.

Hannah Sanderson, project manager for the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester scheme, said: “Highways England is very focused on inspiring young people to consider engineering as a rewarding career.

“It should be a fun experience for the youngsters, and we’re really looking forward to taking our branch of engineering into the classroom.”

Responsible for improving, managing and maintaining England’s motorways and major A roads, the company is working with schools and colleges across the country as part of the Year of Engineering campaign.

By bringing young people face to face with engineering experiences and role models, the campaign aims to showcase the creativity and innovation of engineering careers and widen the pool of young people from all backgrounds who are willing to consider the profession.