The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Scheme

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is one of the most prestigious yet competitive scholarships in the UK with over 1500 applications every year. It supports students passionate about engineering by offering funding, work experience, and invaluable industry connections to help shape their future careers. Each scholar is paired with a personal mentor who provides guidance on curriculum projects, study support, and career advice throughout their A Levels.

The journey to becoming an Arkwright Scholar begins in Year 11, with a rigorous application process which includes a written application, an engineering project, and a two-hour written aptitude test designed to assess creative problem-solving skills through designing ideas based on an engineering problem. High scorers are then invited to an interview with professional engineers, where they give a presentation about their project followed by some challenging questions in an attempt to discover a true passion for engineering. The entire application process was both challenging and rewarding, as it helped me develop new skills and test my critical thinking and creativity under pressure.

Here at Challoner’s, three of us successfully passed this process and are proudly sponsored by the Royal Air Force. To mark the beginning of the scholarship there was a Networking Event and Awards Ceremony, held in Rugby this year, where we met our mentors, fellow scholars, and had a variety of talks on the opportunities available through the scholarship and several insightful career and apprenticeship opportunities available through the RAF. The day also included Q&A panels and opportunities to network with other scholars and included some fun challenges such as the lock-box challenge which aimed to make us work as a team to solve complex problem-solving tasks.

This scholarship is a unique and valuable opportunity for Sixth Formers, and I strongly encourage all Year 11 students interested in applying to reach out to Mr Robertson, our Arkwright coordinator, for guidance throughout the process. You can find out more information about the scholarship from here:

The names of the scholars from Year 12 this year are:

• Hemang

• Yash

• Kamren

Congratulations!