Schools liaison

Our Schools Liaison programme supports primary and secondary schools as well as local colleges through events such as site visits and the hugely popular Flying Start Challenge.

Working closely with schools helps us to foster and encourage an interest in engineering among pupils, support teachers in their delivery of the national curriculum, and raise the profile of Airbus as an employer of choice.

We use Schools Liaison to support community development and help influence the way young people learn. Our goal is to increase their interest in and understanding of science and engineering related subjects.

Flying Start Challenge

This is a competition for school children aged between 11 and 13. Aimed at promoting aerospace and engineering in schools, it teaches students about the principles of flight. The challenge is to plan, design, build and test fly hand-launched balsa wood gliders. This is an extremely popular event which more schools are joining all the time.

Imagineering (Filton)

Imagineering is an event held at the Royal Bath and West Show. It’s fun, free and involves activities for 8 to 16 year olds to discover the exciting world of engineering and manufacturing. They learn how things are designed and made. At previous shows, we have demonstrated an air-powered rocket, wind tunnel flight and moveable surfaces.

Greenpower Challenge (Filton)

The Greenpower Challenge involves electric car racing for schools and colleges. We send out a specification along with a 24-volt electric motor and a set of four 12-volt batteries. Students design and build a car with the help of teachers, professional engineers, parents and sponsoring companies. They then compete in a series of marathon and sprint events at well-known motor racing circuits around the country.

Number Partners (Filton)

The Number Partners scheme is used to promote enjoyment of maths in schools. Involving fun activities such as numerical board games, it helps develop children’s numeracy skills and increase their confidence in maths.

Engineering Education Scheme (Filton and Broughton)

The Engineering Education Scheme is run by the Royal Academy of Engineering for Year 12 students across the country. A professional engineer from Airbus links with a team of students and their teacher for five to six months to solve a real engineering problem.

Flight Challenge (Broughton)

This is a workshop to investigate both the similarities and differences between natural flight in birds and man-made flight in aircraft. The event is aimed at Year 9 pupils and is supported by Chester Zoo and Careers Wales.