Organised by the West Norfolk Academies Trust, and delivered by Alex Meads from the College of West Anglia, the Key Stage 3 Drone Day saw Year 9 students from all four of the Trust’s high schools take part, including Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, Smithdon in Hunstanton, and host Springwood in King’s Lynn.

“All Year 9 students in the WNAT secondary schools took part in an initial competition to win the opportunity to work with Alex,” explained Springwood Head of Geography Calum Wilkinson, who helped to organise the event with the support of colleagues including his counterpart at St Clement’s, Matt Knott.

“The competition involved a decision-making exercise on where to locate a new national forest in West Norfolk. Students were judged on a group presentation. The winning team from each school competed. Each school was represented by five students.”

Following a safety briefing from Mr Meads, who is Green Skills Manager at the College of West Anglia, the high-flying students were tasked with building and racing their own drones, before graduating to flying larger models.

“There were several sessions across the day,” continued Mr Wilkinson. “The morning involved building and racing smaller drones around an assault course, and an opportunity to practise flying larger drones across the school field.

“In the afternoon, the students got to experience the most advanced drones that Alex has, including first-person-view technology.

“Building and flying the drones was a highlight for the students. They were difficult to control, and tested the students’ flying skills.”

It was the first time that the event had taken place, but its success means that there are plans to run it again next year.

“The students were challenged in this event across a range of skills, including problem-solving and teamwork,” added Mr Wilkinson.

“The Springwood High School team has already signed up to support next year’s event.”