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Monday

Before I arrive at Cambridge I’m quite nervous because I have no idea what to expect. I’ve visited Cambridge before with classmates from school to have a look around, but I felt like I didn’t get a proper feel of what the university was actually like. To add to my anxiety, unlike last time, I’m going to be here on my own – a daunting experience in itself.

In the Sidney Sussex common room I start to chat with the undergraduate mentors and other summer school students, and my worries soon desert me. It becomes apparent that there are lots of people taking the same A level subjects as me. This is great because it gives me the chance to have challenging conversations about the courses with them – and check out the competition for a place at Cambridge!

After a short wait in the common room for all of the students to arrive, we head to the cafeteria for dinner. This is followed by an icebreaker session, a formality really as we’re all getting on well already. We retire to our rooms to recover after the exhausting journey to Cambridge and to get a good night’s sleep for the following day’s activities - but I find I’m so excited by the prospect of the week’s activities, sleep is hard to come by.

Tuesday

Next morning we have breakfast and walk to the Engineering Department. After a short introduction to the course we head straight to the labs and take part in an engine strip and rebuild. This activity fascinates me. Although I know how engines work, the closest I’ve ever got to taking one apart was carrying out basic maintenance tasks on my mum’s car and so its great to actually hold each individual component in my hand and examine it closely.

̽»¨Ö±²¥lab technicians are extremely knowledgeable, and I learn a great deal by asking lots of questions - Why the hole in the cylinder, which leads to the carburettor, is bigger than the hole which leads to the exhaust, and what a gasket is used for. ̽»¨Ö±²¥lab session is followed by a lecture in materials selection, which uses graphs with different variables to determine the most appropriate material for use in a bike frame.

Having done a presentation in a similar context for my AS level physics coursework, I’m impressed with the resources that Cambridge has made available for tasks like this, and its great to see how they can be put to good use.

A lecture in Fluid Mechanics followed and although I’m a bit worn out from a tiring first day and lack of sleep the night before, the lecturer still manages to keep me and the rest of the group focused and we all learn loads - like how to calculate the thrust exerted by a jet engine.

After a short period of private study we have dinner and then go punting on the river Cam. This is great fun, but its also a good opportunity to admire the historical architecture of Cambridge in all its beauty.

Wednesday

Another early start takes us to the ̽»¨Ö±²¥â€™s Engineering Department where our course continues with a lecture in Structural Mechanics. I’m keen on this because structural mechanics plays an important part in my uncle’s role as a civil engineer (I’ve always been fascinated by his career and some of the projects he’s worked on). As expected the lecture’s really interesting and informative.

Afterwards we have another lab session using the information from yesterday’s Fluid Mechanics lesson. We apply it to a real life scenario using sluice gates and its good to see how the theory we learnt can be applied to a physical situation - and how, in the real world, things don’t always turn out exactly how theory predicts.

After another private study session we have a tour of Cambridge, looking around some of the colleges and getting the lowdown from the undergraduates who showed us round. ̽»¨Ö±²¥tour gives me a good idea as to which college would be most suitable for me, which will come in handy when making a final decision on where to apply.

Dinner follows and then we all travel to Robinson College for a performance of ‘A Comedy of Errors’, by a local drama society. I wasn’t initially keen - I didn’t feel particularly in the mood after working all day down at the Engineering Department but surprisingly I soon find myself thoroughly enjoying the performance in spite of my earlier doubts.

Thursday

In the morning we attend a lecture about engineering design. This includes a discussion of what engineering design actually is, and why people design things. We also cover how to design and the processes involved, and at the end of the lecture we’re given examples of designs, and we discuss whether they’re good or bad - justifying our opinions, which I find really interesting.

Design is something that fascinates me. I’m constantly looking at the way things are constructed and the pros and cons that specific design has to offer. After the lecture we start on our Robot Design Project. We’re introduced to the project by Dr Geoff Parks, who sets the objective: -to design, construct and programme a robot made from a ‘Lego Mind Storms’ kit. ̽»¨Ö±²¥robot then has to navigate its way through a course using several different sensors such as light sensors in order to reach its destination. ̽»¨Ö±²¥robot also has to have the ability to pick up a small Lego box, move it from one place in the course to another, and then set it down again.

We spend about three hours on the project until I reluctantly have to leave for a ‘supervision session’ so that I can go over the work we were set in fluid dynamics and structural mechanics. ̽»¨Ö±²¥supervision actually turns out to be really useful. There’s only me, another student and a PHD student in the room and we go over the work in great detail, covering anything that we have trouble with. I also get a chance to talk to the PHD student about life at Cambridge and what it would be like to study engineering here, which is great.

After the supervisions we go back to Sidney Sussex College and attend a gala dinner, followed by a disco, which is all very enjoyable.

Friday

̽»¨Ö±²¥last day arrives quickly and we’re all eager to continue with our Robot Design Projects. We spend the last few hours frantically tweaking our robots and modifying the programming before we pit the robots against each other in a thrilling competition. Unfortunately our robot doesn’t win, but we’ve had loads of fun anyway and we’re given a certificate for participation in the Sutton Trust Summer School. We all return to Sidney Sussex College to sadly pack our bags and head home.

Hometime thoughts

I had an amazing time studying engineering at the Sutton Trust Summer School in Cambridge, and its increased my desire to study engineering at degree level. I’d recommend attending a summer school like this because I had a fantastic time making new friends and I also learnt a great deal from the course, not only about engineering, but about university life, and in particular life at Cambridge.
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