The West Point Bridge Contest allows S1-3 students to become engineers, using a free software package to design and load-test a bridge. The competition has officially been set up to run from 15 February to 15 April 2013. Different education authorities have different Easter breaks, so this year's competition has been extended to 2 months. However, the software can be acquired immediately from the internet and teams can register now.
As I am sure you will find, it is an excellent tool. It not only introduces school children to civil engineering and applies in a practical way taught subjects in maths and the sciences, it also encourages team work and, most importantly, it is fun. Coupled with the option to have a practising Civil Engineer visit your school, we believe this offers a well-rounded resource, organised by a learned institution whose objectives through West Point are solely to explore vocational opportunities before children make career choices.
However, while ICE Scotland has reacted to requests to participate in West Point in recent years, we have found this increasingly challenging. Not only do we compete for space on the curriculum, there are also logistical challenges such as IT firewalls and policies which have to date blocked whole council areas from participating.
From 2014 we intend to adopt a new structure with more local support to schools which will both provide an enhanced experience, but also will allow our team to focus on their geographic area and try and break down some of the barriers which limit participation. We hope you will see the benefits of this come 2014.
But for now, thank you for supporting or showing interest in West Point. Enjoy the competition, and we look forward to an ever improving offer to schools. Prize funds will be announced shortly – they will be generous!