The search is on for the next generation of engineering talent, with applications now open for students to apply to the highly respected Arkwright (ArkwrightTalent) Engineering Scholarship program.

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship celebrates its 30th anniversary of improving opportunities and raising aspirations for young people in engineering.

The arkwright scholarship aims to widen access and provide young people from all backgrounds with the chance to experience the exciting world of engineering.

Through the program, students get to work alongside and learn from industry experts such as CrowdStrike, McLaren Racing and the RAF.

What is an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?

An Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most esteemed scholarship of its type in the United Kingdom, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as the future leaders in engineering.

The Scholarships are being awarded to hard-working 16-year-old students through a rigorous selection process, supporting them through their A-levels, Scottish Highers or equivalent qualifications.

Arkwright engineering scholarship 20222 — Ideas and brainstorm concepts.

Every Scholarship is funded by a commercial company, trade association, university, professional institution, armed service, government organization, worshipful company, charitable trust or personal donor. This means that support is rendered in various ways, for example, valuable hands-on work experience, support for your curriculum project and a personal mentor who can help you with aspects of your studies and career planning.

ARKWRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS FOR SCHOLARS

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships can support you to become a future leader in engineering, computing or technical design. Here is a little insight into the sort of support and benefits you could receive…

Key benefits include:

Financial help

You receive £600 as part of the Scholarship—use this funding to support the purchase of components and materials to complete your technical projects or enhance your curriculum projects. Alternatively, use the money to purchase textbooks, reference books, or to fund your attendance on technical courses, summer schools or university open days. Your school receives £400 if you secure a Scholarship, which it must spend on equipment, materials, or teacher training to enhance the delivery of STEM subjects.

Mentoring

Wherever possible, we or your Sponsor will pair you with a Mentor—a Professional Engineer who can provide advice and guidance about your future study and career development, and even technical advice to help with your projects.

Exclusive Events

Scholars have access to a wide variety of exclusive events run by our partner companies, universities and trade associations, including Connect Days and Summer Schools. These events give our Scholars a real insight into different sectors of industry and academia.

Who can apply?

Are you eligible to apply?

Atkwright Engineering Scholarships are for the ‘brightest and best students that have the passion and determination to succeed in their future studies and career:

You must have a strong desire to have a future career as a leader within the Engineering Profession

When you apply, you must be in the school year in which you will sit your GCSEs, Scottish National 5s, International Baccalaureate Standards, BTEC level 2s or equivalent exams

You must intend to stay at school or sixth form college for two years to study A-levels, BTEC level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma, Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers or the International Baccalaureate higher level

Unless studying for a BTEC Level 3 in engineering, applicants must commit to study one of the following subjects to A level (England, Wales & Northern Ireland), or Advanced Higher (Scotland):

Engineering Science

Math

Physics

Computer Science

For the full eligibility criteria, refer to Section 2, pages 5 and 6, of the Arkwright Handbook.

Benefits for Scholars

What are the benefits of an Arkwright scholarship? They include…

Internationally Recognized Scholarship

£600 personal financial award

£400 school financial award

Personal development

Support from your Sponsor

Dedicated Engineering Mentor

Industry-based Connect Days

University-based VIP Receptions

Early notification of national competitions

Network with like-minded students

How to apply?

Your school must be partnered with Arkwright Engineering Scholarships and you must be within a certain age bracket before you can apply for a Scholarship. If your school is not partnered, ask your teacher to complete the school partnership form. The partnership is quick, simple, and FREE.

Once your online application has been submitted, you will sit the Arkwright aptitude exam in your school. If you are successful in the exam, you will be invited to the interview stage. If you are then successful in the 20-minute interview, you’ll be matched to an available Scholarship.

HOW TO APPLY

How do you become an Arkwright scholar?

You’ve got to be in it to win it!

Talk to your teacher if you are interested in applying for a Scholarship. Applications are open between September and January each year.

Your school must be partnered with the Arkwright Engineering Scholarships program before you can apply for a Scholarship. If your school is not yet a partner, ask your teacher to complete the school partnership form. The partnership is quick, simple, and FREE.

You must apply during Year 11 (England and Wales), S4 (Scotland), Year 12 (Northern Ireland). The Scholarship will be awarded as you begin Year 12 (England and Wales), S5 (Scotland), Year 13 (Northern Ireland) to study subjects that will prepare you for a university degree or higher-level apprenticeship and career in Engineering, computing or technical design.

A £40.00 administration fee is payable, by April, for each student application. This helps to cover the cost of Arkwright’s rigorous selection process. This fee may be payable by the School of the applicant’s parents, depending on local arrangements (which are beyond the control of Arkwright Engineering Scholarships). Teachers should decide how best the fee can be paid.

The selection process consists of five stages:

2022 Key Dates

Applications open	Monday 11 October 2021
Teachers nominate students via the portal	4 pm, Friday 21 January 2022
Students submit completed online applications to teachers via the portal	4 pm, Friday 21 January 2022 (EXTENDED TO FRIDAY 28 JANUARY 2022)
Aptitude Exam	Wednesday 2 February 2022
Interviews	April and May 2022

Application Procedures

ONLINE APPLICATION

Convince Them!

In stage 1 you gain experience of completing an online ‘job application’-type form.

Our Contact Teachers are made aware when each year’s application round is opened. Applications are welcomed from early September to mid-January each year. First, your teacher must nominate you on our online portal. Then each student must complete a detailed online form setting out their:

GCSE/Scottish National 5 (or equivalent) subjects and predicted exam grades

Intended subjects of study beyond GCSEs/Scottish National 5s

What interests them about engineering

Post-school education and career aspirations

A practical engineering/technology project

Extra-curricular activities, particulary those highlighting their leadership skills

It is the teacher who submits each student’s application, after adding their own Reference for each students.

Further details of the online application stage can be found in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Arkwright Handbook.

Example Student Application Form

For information only – not to be submitted

Click here

APTITUDE EXAM

Can you apply your knowledge?

In stage 2, every applicant must sit the two-hour Arkwright Aptitude Exam.

This is not an academic exam, it is a test of your ability to creatively apply your technical knowledge to develop innovative solutions real-world engineering problems. The exam is sat in your school, under national exam conditions, on the first Wednesday afternoon in February (everybody sits the exam on the same afternoon).

After ten minutes reading time, in which candidates read and consider the exam questions, each candidate must answer one of the three questions in Section A and one of the three questions in Section B.

Section A – you are asked to provide a brief overview of three of your ideas to solve one of the set engineering problems.

Section B – you are asked to provide a single creative and innovative solution to a more focussed engineering problem, developed in some depth.

Marking Criteria

The marking criteria for the Arkwright Aptitude Exam can be found in Appendix A of the Arkwright Handbook.

Arkwright Aptitude Exam Drawing Sheet

Candidates must use the standard Arkwright A3 drawing sheets in the exam. Download the formatted Arkwright Drawing Sheet [pdf] and print onto A3 paper (80 or 100 gram) for use in the Exam. We recommend 2 sheets per question (4 sheets per candidate).

Past Papers

Below are copies of past Arkwright Aptitude Exam papers, markers’ comments and exemplar material.

INTERVIEW

Prove your ability!

Once each applicant’s scores from the online application and aptitude exam are calculated and compared, the top-scoring applicants go forward to the stage three – a 20 minute interview.

Interviews are hosted online and take place in April and May each year.

A detailed briefing is provided to each Applicant who reaches the interview stage, in order to prepare them for the interview. A central part of each interview is a discussion about a practical project that the Applicant has done and has, ideally, brought along to show the Interviewers.

Find out more about practical projects

Read the Guidance Notes for Interviewees

CEREMONY OF AWARDS
Take Advantage of Your Scholarship
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships are presented to new Scholars at renowned Ceremonies in late October in the presence of their parents, sponsors, and industry and academic VIPs.

It takes time to do credit to the deserving recipients of the Scholarships. As a result, we give the 400 Scholarships in four Ceremonies each year: three in London and one in Edinburgh.

Over light refreshments, scholars, and their parents meet and chat with a representative of their Sponsoring Organization.
Following that, guests congregate in the auditorium to hear from a high-profile Principal Speaker and an Arkwright Alumni.
On stage, each sponsor and their Scholars are introduced and given their certificates.
Individual and group shots are taken in a separate area.

Note: An integral part of every application is to show your practical ability through technical project work you have done at school or home. See below for more details of:

Practical Projects

All details of the application and award process can be found in Sections 4 and 5, pages 7 to 12, of the Arkwright Handbook.

Arkwright Engineering Scholarships is part of The Smallpeice Trust.
© 2022 The Smallpeice Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England.

Credits: Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Portal. All information here is directly from the University Scholarship portal.

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