UK schools to embark on plane-building journey

Keith Mans, chief executive of the Royal Aeronautical Society (right) thanks Sir Roger Bone, president of Boeing UK, for Boeing's support of the Schools Build-a-Plane Challenge.

Secondary schools in the United Kingdom have been invited to bid on an education challenge that will result in students, ages 14 to 18, learning to manufacture, fly and sell a light aircraft.

The Royal Aeronautical Society and Boeing UK, with the support of Global Corporate Citizenship's education initiative, launched the Schools Build-a-Plane Challenge to provide training for educators in the scientific and engineering principles of flight. The project will enable young people to demonstrate what they have learned through hands-on activities.

In order to ensure the broadest possible educational benefit, and to use the best possible resources, schools across the UK have been encouraged to partner with one another to bid for the challenge.

"Boeing is committed in the UK, as well as globally, to ensuring student success through teacher development and improving school leadership," said Sir Roger Bone, president of Boeing UK. "This exciting project will directly engage young people and their teachers with the practical elements of science, technology, engineering and math in a fun and inspiring way."

Teams will be announced during The Royal Aeronautical Society's annual youth day on March 31. Aircraft development is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year. Boeing experts and regional branch members of the society will be on hand to act in a mentoring capacity to the educators and students during the build process.

"Corporate citizenship goes beyond financial contributions. It takes multiple facets to improve communities, and the mentoring of these young people by our employees will be as valuable as the funding," said Anne Roosevelt, vice president of Global Corporate Citizenship.

As with most aviation projects, there will be a commercial focus, with successful schools marketing and selling their aircraft. The funds raised from the sale will be reinvested in the project, enabling other educators and students to take part in the challenge. Schools will maintain a video diary of the project and document their experiences and lessons learned to help successive schools.

The aviation challenge is only one of many initiatives supported by Global Corporate Citizenship. Last year, GCC provided nearly $58 million to support community investments around the globe, including education programs, disaster relief, environmental efforts, arts and cultural awareness activities and programs that improve health and human services. In the UK, Boeing provided $265,000 to support the Prince's Trust XL Club in Sheffield, the Green Corridor Tree Buddies project in London and the Royal Aeronautical Society's Schools Build-a-Plane Challenge.