As part of their support for the new WMG Academy for Young Engineers, engineering company Bosch helped Coventry and Buckinghamshire school children get a taste of the latest engineering technology at WMG at the University of Warwick.

The event, which took place on Tuesday 4 June, aimed to excite the interest of 10 to 12 year olds in a career in engineering – possibly with leading organisations such as Bosch as future potential employers.

The children from Joseph Cash and Coundon Court schools in Coventry and Carrington Junior School in Buckinghamshire got hands on experience with a robot search and rescue device, WMG’s 3D Virtual powerwall, sessions on how mobile phones work, and demonstrations of Additive Layer Manufacturing and Digital Healthcare technology.

Prominent businessman and former University of Warwick Pro-Chancellor John Leighfield has been named as the first Chair of Governors at WMG Academy for Young Engineers.

Mr Leighfield worked in the IT industry for many years, serving in high-level positions with Ford Motor Company, British Leyland, AT&T and RM Education. For the University of Warwick he has served as a lay member of the University Council, Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council.

He will lead the Board of Governors at the WMG Academy, which is due to open in September 2014.

The search has begun for an inspirational Principal and Managing Director to lead the new WMG Academy for Young Engineers.

The WMG Academy, a business-led and business-like University Technical College for 14-19-year olds, is due to open in September 2014.

The Academy is led by a partnership of local, regional and national employer organisations, innovative advanced manufacturing, engineering and digital technology businesses. Partners include WMG, University of Warwick, Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid and SCC.

A formal public consultation has opened on plans to develop a new school – the WMG Academy for Young Engineers. It plans to work closely with the University of Warwick, the existing Westwood Academy School and over 40 key local employers.

The people and organisations involved in the development of the new Academy want to hear views about their plans from local employers, potential parents and students, the local community and other interested parties.

Today’s announcement by Education Secretary Michael Gove, which saw the proposed WMG Academy for Young Engineers at the University of Warwick named as one of several successful University Technical College projects to be approved under the government’s academies programme, has given the green light for the creation of a state-of-the-art new school close to the University of Warwick campus. The new school will be designed to provide young people who have an interest in engineering with a better way of learning and realising their ambitions, and will deliver a richer array of educational and employment opportunities to young people and to the local economy.