On her visit in January Roma Agrawal, a renowned structural engineer, talked about her upcoming book, Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way), which focuses on the ingenuity of historic engineers and how the invention of tiny things including the nail, spring and wheel have ‘enabled humanity to see the invisible, build the spectacular, communicate across vast distances, and even escape our planet.’

After speaking with pupils, Roma, who has worked on major projects including The Shard, and who is a vocal advocate of women in engineering, then cut the ribbon on the new workshop, a practical space in the basement level of the Robert Hooke Science Centre, featuring equipment from hacksaws and glue guns to circuit boards and computer-aided design software.

Head of Physics, Dr Helen Prentice, said: “This is a fantastic new space to support cross-disciplinary STEM projects. In this workshop, pupils will maintain and develop practical skills giving them the confidence to solve real-world problems and have fun!”

Lukas (Sixth Form, PP) said “It was interesting to learn the history of seemingly simple objects with such complex engineering. It is also really valuable to have a space where I can realise and engineer an idea into an object.”