The eighth National Science Week looks like being one of the most inventive with more than 30 Bradford schools involved in one way or another. But what is the value of this annual event when engineering and science development is so poorly funded and hi-tech manufacturers still complain about a shortage of quality engineering talent? Jim Greenhalf reports.

Apparently, the most popular programme on BBC2 is not Newsnight but Robot Wars.

Remote-controlled contraptions pounding one another or being enveloped in flames may offend politically correct notions of what youngsters ought to find stimulating, but there's a whole more involved than just a technological version of stock cars.

That's why programme makers have adapted the concept of Robot Wars for National Science Week. Techno Games is the result. Tonight through to Friday on BBC2, either at 6.25pm or 6.45pm a week-long tussle takes place between 80 automated machines competing in 14 different rounds of Olympic events, from swimming to long-jumping.

Four Bradford upper schools - Tong Park, Holy Family, Greenhead and Oakbank - have built robots for this competition which has its grand final on Friday evening.

Closer to home, two events at Bradford University this week have involved a dozen schools in designing, building and learning how to control a variety of robotic machines.

Tomorrow, pupils from three middle schools and Carlton Bolling College will be showing the results of their extra-curricula enthusiasm at the University's mechanical engineering department in a keystage 3 Robot Challenge. On Thursday it's the turn of eight upper schools whose machines will be competing in Keystage 4 Robot Wars at the University's communal building.

The T&A went to two schools, one middle and one upper, to see how the appliance of science geared to special events had engaged the pupils.

PARKLANDS MIDDLE

Tomorrow, half-a-dozen pupils aged between 12 and 13 at Parkland Middle will be trying to emulate last year's success when a computerised model fairground made by four girls from the school gained second place.

For the last eight or nine weeks John Bell, 12, has been working on a robot based on a discarded tricycle.

"It was my friend Luke Smith who started it, then he went off to Newcastle-on-Tyne, so I am doing this on my own. I really enjoy doing this in my spare time. I'll be operating this at the University. I am nervous about it," he said.

Crystal Fisher and Rachel Murphy, both 13, similarly spent weeks on their machine which is based on some design drawings done last year. While they were showing chip-boards and batteries to your baffled reporter, Daniel Spafford and Terry Thorpe were busy at a drill, making adjustments to their contraption.

All the children were working under the guidance of John Bolland, head of technology at Parkland for 24 years (the school closes at the end of the summer). The chronic shortage of money was met by help from the Newlands Single Regeneration Budget and the school's Parent-Teachers Association.

I couldn't help reflect that had this been America, Japan or Germany there would probably be no shortage of cash for such a project. John Bolland accepted the situation and explained the benefits to the children of designing and building the machines.

"Taking part in these things makes them grow up so much better. I just feel that practical problem-solving helps them overcome difficulties that life throws up: taking a problem and overcoming it, fixing it," he said.

Hanson SCHOOL

Whereas the Parkland Middle robots are designed for light manoeuvres, Hanson's much heavier model is designed for a scrap; its hoist, powered by carbon dixoide and nitrogen gas, is capable of lifting 250 kilos. This remote-controlled monster weighs between 70 and 80 kilos and looks a real nasty piece of work.

I'm sure the dozen pupils who built it will be delighted to know that, for they have put a great deal of concerted effort into the machine, aided by four firms from Keighley to Hemsworth.

"I think the key skills boil down to project management. We had six groups responsible for procurement, design, the control system, the weapon system, chassis design and the shell," said science teacher Stuart Purdey, who has overseen the project right from the start.

Among the 14 to 16-year-olds are three girls. Amy Harris, 15, was given the responsibility of designing the shell. It wasn't ready for bolting on the day we were there.

Two of her colleagues, Ryan Winder and Duncan Shiel, had the job of guiding the project from its inception to its realisation.

"I was involved in the project last year when I only had a couple of weeks to build a robot. I called it Dave," Ryan said.

"Me and Ryan were looking at the programme the whole way through this year, and we helped with a lot of it," Duncan added.

Both boys said they wanted to take up electrical engineering. Duncan was thinking of taking physics and maths at GCE A Level. To be a chartered electronics engineer he'd have to have those subjects; furthermore, to qualify for a top notch university course the grades would have to be As.

The school's head of science for the last two years, Mukesh Nar, said the number of science classes next year were going to increase. The value of such projects as Robot Wars is demonstrated in the enthusiasm generated in the pupils (they do the work out of normal school time).

"We are hoping to be the first school in the country to build an aeroplane. We have had technical support from BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace). It will be a two-seater micro-light, with a engine. Such a machine could fly you from here to Paris on one tank of fuel," he said.

"We don't have the money to do this but some of the funding could come from the Excellence in the Cities project with which Bradford and Leeds are involved.

"The whole essence of the robot project is getting people to work together and the whole process of that has been stunning. I think we are just learning how to funnel the enthusiasm of the kids taking part back to other students.

"We have got to make science relevant to their lives, to show them what's going on in the outside world. We have had master-classes here. A woman came in from Bradford University to talk about forensic anthropology and they were fascinated," he said.

The robotic goings-on at the University tomorrow and Thursday and the programmes on BBC2 this week are only part of the proverbial iceberg. To follow there is the Science and Engineering Communication Challenge, a seriously big event involving 19 Bradford and Leeds schools and hundreds of pupils.

Each school has chosen a scientific topic about which they must make a five-minute video. The Campaign to Promote Engineering is sponsoring the event which culminates in a day at Bradford's Pictureville Cinema on April 3 when all the videos will be shown and judged by the participating schools.

Between the videos being shown and judged six master classes in science and technology will be held by five companies including BAE Systems and Pace Micro Technology.

Dr Keith Ferguson, marketing director of Filtronic plc, is to give a keynote speech emphasising the need for young people to get involved in engineering and fill the needs of firms like Filtronic and availability.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.