Originally published 11 August 2003

During the summer school, I took part in the engineering course. Our project was to design a Light Rail Transit System (LRTS) to run between the University of Warwick and Coventry City Centre. There were many things we needed to think about: route; vehicle designs and colours; the service times; and the costs.

We started the course with a “get to know you” game. The game consisted of passing vehicle noises around a circle and trying not to let them crash. We had cars (“vvrrroooom”), bicycles (“pant, pant, tinkle, tinkle”), and trams (“clickety-click”). We had breaks (“eeeak”) for the cars and bicycles to stop crashes. After break we watched a video about congestion in Coventry. It contained many facts which we could use in our project. We were then split into four groups which we would be in for the rest of the project. Our group called itself “The Revengineer Crew”.

From then on we started working on the LRTS. We write biogs for the other members of the group to be used in our portfolios. We had a lecture in the afternoon, and did a web search on other LRTSs.

On Tuesday we visited Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire. Whilst there, we had the chance to ride on some trams, look at some exhibitions and have a guided tour of the workshops and tramsheds where we learnt more technical details about operating trams.

Later in the week we spent time in the CAD computer room, where we learnt how to use a designing program. By the end of the week we finnished choosing the route and were prepared to walk it the following Monday.

I would say that so far, I have found the course enjoyable, and that the summer school is a great way of learning new things and meeting new people.

Pippa Gardner (13)