Haywards Heath Students Strike Gold in Prestigious STEM Challenge  

A-level STEM students from Haywards Heath College have achieved the Gold Level Industrial Cadets Award with the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) for their outstanding contributions to STEM. 

These highly coveted national awards were the culmination of a six-month industrial and academic research project, which was mentored by Edwards, a global leader in semiconductor vacuum technology.  

The programme is a collaboration between industry and education, and is designed to inspire young people through real-world industry experiences to pursue careers in the STEM workforce of the future.   

Students were tasked with exploring a complex project brief, which involved designing and developing a prototype turbomolecular vacuum pump.  

This gave them hands-on experience in one of the world’s most advanced technological sectors, incorporating site visits, university workshop days, and undergraduate level research into their project.   

The assessment panel of national industry experts were impressed with the student team, with feedback including “one of the most challenging project briefs, with the students producing a project of university dissertation level,”.  The assessors also praised the exceptional teamwork of the students.   

Special thanks go to Sam Ellis and Gary Dunmore of Edwards, who mentored the students throughout the programme, providing invaluable guidance, inspiration and support.