A group of S1 pupils from Lesmahagow High School visited Whitelee Windfarm this week to learn about how windfarms produce energy and what keeps turbines working. The visit was hosted by SP Energy Networks, as we have been working with the school over the last five weeks on their “Boom!” project, which has brought together all the skills they have learned through their first year of secondary school.
The high school’s “Boom!” project has been run with our support, and aims to encourage the pupils to make links between the various subjects they study at school in order to help them appreciate that beyond school most activities or careers incorporate many different skills and knowledge.
We own, manages and maintain the network of cables and power lines serving over 300,000 customers in Lanarkshire, and work closely with schools and colleges across Scotland to help promote STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and encourage students to consider how the subjects they study at school will help them in later life.
During their visit to Whitelee, pupils were given chance to put the skills learned through the “Boom!” project into action, examining the best geographical placement of a windfarm, exploring what makes a wind turbine work through an interactive classroom session, and getting a first-hand look at the job of a turbine technician through a guided tour of the windfarm.
Graham Corr, our Resource Support Team Manager, said: “It has been a pleasure working with the pupils at Lesmahagow High School throughout this project to help them recognise the importance of career planning and life skill development.
“At SP Energy Networks, we know how important it is to introduce young talent to the industry: in Lanarkshire alone we have 21 trainees, from graduate engineers to trainee project engineers, adult craft trainees and craft apprentices. We have a busy programme of activity throughout the year, engaging with a number of schools, colleges and local authorities across Lanarkshire to encourage applicants to our engineering and apprentice training programmes.”
Irene Nicol, Faculty Head Sciences at Lesmahagow High School, said: “Overall, pupil feedback indicates that the project seems to have struck the right balance between fun, engaging activities and challenging tasks for our S1! The pupils were assessed on and rewarded for skills like literacy, working together and being considerate of health and wellbeing issues during their group work.
“The trip to Whitelee Windfarm helped to bring the project into the real world, and support from SP Energy Networks and our parent council has helped us to provide great experiences and awards for all the winning teams.”