Year 12 Team Win Project of the Year in National Engineering Competition

Published by Chigwell School on Wednesday 22nd of July 2026

A huge congratulations to our Year 12 students, who have achieved outstanding success in the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) Gold Industrial Cadets Programme, winning Project of the Year at a recent awards ceremony held at University College London.

Their project was assessed by a panel of industry judges against entries from schools across the country taking part in the programme. Competing alongside teams from independent, grammar and comprehensive schools nationwide, the Chigwell team impressed with their creativity, engineering expertise, and teamwork.

Over the course of nine months, the students worked alongside Airbus to develop an innovative system for the automated placement of delicate mirrors used in satellite production. Their project involved transforming an old large-format 3D printer into a specialist mirror layup machine.

The project provided the team with the opportunity to apply their engineering knowledge to a real-world challenge, while developing valuable practical and collaborative skills throughout the process.

We would like to extend our special thanks to David L. for his mentorship and support throughout the project.

Congratulations to the whole team again on this exceptional achievement. We are incredibly proud of what you have accomplished and look forward to seeing what you achieve next.