Just as building work on a second WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull enters an exciting new phase; a £1.1m grant has been confirmed from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) towards state of the art, industry standard engineering and IT equipment.

The Academy building work, which began in September this year, is well underway and on schedule for completion in July 2016.

Work has started on building a second WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull. Scheduled for completion in July 2016, the new academy is currently taking applications for the first cohort of students to start in September 2016.

Sponsored by WMG, the University of Warwick and with a range of business partners, the Academy will inspire over 600 learners who will have the opportunity to access unrivalled industry standard resources, expertise and digital technologies.

The WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Coventry has received a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) on loan from WMG, at the University of Warwick. The machine will assist students with verification and measurement when producing parts, ensuring they are trained in the most efficient industrial processes and with the same equipment used by world leading manufacturing companies.

The Solihull Council’s planning committee has approved plans for the new WMG Academy building this week. The new Academy, which will be built on the vacant site at the corner of Chelmsley Road and Conway Road, will eventually host 640 young engineers aged 14-19.

The WMG Academy for Young Engineers Solihull is a sister Academy to the WMG Academy in Coventry. It will initially take students at years 10 (aged 14) and year 12 (aged 16) with the first intake joining in September 2016. It is expected that, as with the WMG Academy Coventry, there will be huge demand for places.

Local students and parents interested in finding out more about the WMG Academy Solihull can visit the WMG Academy Coventry on 20^th June for a Taster Event which will run from 10am to 3pm and include taster lessons, demonstrations, tours of the building and a chance to speak to staff about the curriculum and enrichment activities. If you are interested in attending please visit the website at www.wmgacademysolihull.org.uk.

Mr Ratan Tata GBE, Chairman of Tata Trusts and Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons today officially opened the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Coventry.

Hosted by Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG, and Mr John Leighfield CBE, Chairman of the WMG Academy Trust, Mr Tata officially opened the Academy in front of an audience of over 300. Guests included companies working closely with the Academy such as Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, Bosch and National Grid, civic leaders and the partners from the University of Warwick.

The WMG Academy, which opened its doors to over 230 students in September 2014, is already a huge success. Within a month of opening, a team of students triumphed at the Coventry City Council Debating Competition and won a trip to the House of Lords.

The WMG Academy has promised, from its inception, to blend business and education, to prepare students for the world of work and offers a unique curriculum which teaches engineering and business skills alongside standard qualifications.

Four students from the WMG Academy for Young Engineers, based in Coventry, enjoyed a trip to Westminster on Wednesday 26th November to watch Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

Miranda Bishop-Timings, Ethan Harries, Hannah Miles and Sophie Sutton won the Y12 Debating Competition run by Coventry City Council as part of Local Democracy week.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman of WMG said:

It’s wonderful to see the young students from the WMG Academy for Young Engineers making an impact through debating. I organised a tour of the House of Lords as part of their visit to London and I hope this will have filled them with enthusiasm for their next competition.”

The debating competition took place on Friday 17th October where the team had to debate the following motion:
“This House would introduce an age limit of 18 for mobile phones”

The Rt Hon Lord Kenneth Baker, founder of the University Technical College Programme, visited the WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Coventry last week to meet the first cohort of students.

Accompanied by Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, Lord Baker enjoyed a tour of the new school on Friday 24 October and spoke to staff and students.

The Academy, in Mitchell Avenue, opened its doors for the first time in September 2014 to 230 Year 10 and Year 12 pupils.

WMG Academy Principal Kate Tague said:

We were delighted to welcome Lord Baker and Lord Bhattacharyya to the WMG Academy for Young Engineers. They spent all morning touring the new building and talking to our staff and students about their experience and technical education. It was a wonderful way to end our first half term with the drivers of new 14-19 technical colleges both nationally and locally.”

Today’s announcement by Chancellor George Osborne sees the second WMG Academy for Young Engineers (Solihull) named as one of the latest University Technical Colleges to be approved under the government’s academies programme.

Sponsored by the University of Warwick and leading employers, and backed by Solihull Council and a range of local partners, the new school will provide young people aged 14-19 from Birmingham and Solihull the opportunity to study engineering and science in a business-like and business led environment alongside the national curriculum.

Key employer partners for the new WMG Academy include Jaguar Land Rover, Controls and Data Services (formerly known as Aero Engine Controls) and Arup, whose input and expertise will shape the curriculum and the project-based learning approach of the new Academy. Pupils will take a problem-solving, practical approach to learning by working on real-world problems, set by the employer partners.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, Chairman and Founder of WMG said:

Reaching a younger generation, engaging them in innovative new learning environments and preparing and inspiring them to create the high-value products of tomorrow is the only way that we can ensure the UK’s ability to compete in the global market place for the future.

We are delighted to be starting work on opening the second WMG Academy for Young Engineers in Solihull. Across the region we have some of the best companies and supply chains for manufacturing, many of whom are eager to become part of this exciting new approach to education.

We have worked with our partners to create a truly unique curriculum and learning style that will ensure students across Solihull and Birmingham have access to a bespoke learning experience that not only gives them high-value technical skills but also vital employability and business skills; preparing them for further or higher education, apprenticeships or to move directly into careers and keeping manufacturing knowledge and excellence within the region.”

One of the first students to join the WMG Academy for Young Engineers laid a final brick yesterday as part of the topping out ceremony for the new building.

Emily Rooney, who will join the Academy in Year 12, took part in the special ceremony to mark another milestone in construction.

The first cohort of Year 10 and Year 12 students will come through the doors in September. They will spend their induction week exploring the engineering and manufacturing facilities on offer at the University of Warwick, before starting classes in the new building on Mitchell Avenue.

Do we take engineering for granted? What would our life be like without engineers?

To get people thinking about the impact that engineering has on our everyday life, the WMG Academy for Young Engineers is asking everyone to tweet and facebook them explaining how life would be different #withoutengineers.

Simply visit their facebook page or find them on twitter @wmgacademy and send in your ideas and photos telling them what things in life would be very different #withoutengineers!