Learning Grid

Last updated April 30, 2019

The Learning Grid was a UK charity that promoted hands-on activities related to science and engineering for school pupils and students in the United Kingdom. The name Learning Grid was also used to refer collectively to the activities themselves.

The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

History

Motorsport Development UK (MDUK) was established in November 2003 with funding from four regional development agencies (East Midlands Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands, South East England Development Agency, and East of England Development Agency), and from the DTI, with about £11.5m each year. Martin Fellows was head of MDUK. MDUK was a six-year programme, and came to a close in March 2009.^[1] MDUK was headquartered at Silverstone.

East Midlands Development Agency, abbreviated EMDA, was the regional development agency for the East Midlands region of England formed in 1999.

Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a business-led approach. Operating at arms length from government, RDAs had business-led Boards that were appointed by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. Advantage West Midlands was closed on 31 March 2012 as part of the wider closure of the RDA network.

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), was one of a number of regional development agencies in England. It was set up as a non-departmental public body in 1999 to promote the region and to enable a number of more difficult regeneration projects which otherwise might not take place. It covered Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex

The Learning Grid began in 2005 as a recommendation of the Motorsport Competitiveness Panel, a body set up by the UK Department of Trade and Industry whose final report was announced by the then Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt on 11 July 2003.^[2] The name 'Learning Grid' was thought to refer to a motorsport starting grid, since many of the activities had a motorsport theme, although another derivation could be the representation of activities on a map or grid showing the age group on the X axis and level of time commitment required on the Y axis.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.

Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour politician, who served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Secretary of State for Health.

It was officially launched at Goodwood in October 2005, with an event hosted by Greenpower, with Bob Gilbert and a speech given by Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara.

Goodwood Circuit is a historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester/Goodwood Airport. This is the racing circuit dating from 1948, not to be confused with the separate hillclimb course located at Goodwood House and first used in 1936.

The Greenpower Education Trust is a charitable organisation, whose objective is to inspire more young people to become engineers by presenting the engineering industry as an interesting and relevant career choice which could help to solve problems relating to the personal, social and emotional development of individuals and societies. The main idea is for teams of students between the ages of 9 and 25 to design, build, and race their own electric powered race cars on top racing circuits such as Goodwood.

Structure

A Motorsport Academy was also established in 2006. Another programme of MDUK was Energy Efficient Motorsport. Learning Grid was headquartered at Savoy Place, home of the IET, in the City of Westminster.

Savoy Place is a large red brick building on the north bank of the River Thames in London. It is on a street called Savoy Place and Savoy Street runs along the side of the building up to the Strand. In front is the Victoria Embankment, part of the Thames Embankment. Close by are Savoy Hill House, the Savoy Hotel and Waterloo Bridge. There are commanding views over to the South Bank and the London Eye.

The City of Westminster is an Inner London borough that also holds city status. It occupies much of the central area of Greater London including most of the West End. Historically in Middlesex, it is to the west of the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary is the River Thames. The London borough was created with the 1965 establishment of Greater London. Upon its creation, it inherited the city status previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster from 1900, which was first awarded to Westminster in 1540.

On 2 February 2007, it became a not-for-profit limited company.^[3] At the end of 2009, the registered office was moved from Savoy Place to Bromyard in Herefordshire. One of the directors of the company was Roger Putnam. This company was dissolved on 24 May 2011.

Bromyard is a market town in Herefordshire, England, situated in the valley of the River Frome. The latest census gives a population in 2011 of approximately 4,500. It lies near to the county border with Worcestershire on the A44 between Leominster and Worcester. Bromyard has a number of traditional half-timbered buildings, including some of the pubs, and the parish church dates back to Norman times. For centuries there was a thriving livestock market. The town is twinned with Athis-de-l'Orne, Normandy.

Herefordshire is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It borders Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west.

Roger Putnam CBE has spent over 40 years representing British companies in global markets and has long relationships with motorsports, F1, World Sportscar Championship and the World Rally Championships.

Activities

22 separate activities achieved the Learning Grid quality standard, including Formula Student, F1 in Schools, Primary Engineer, Greenpower, STEM days and residential courses run by the Smallpeice Trust, the Shell Eco-marathon, F1 in Schools, the Engineering Education Scheme and The Year in Industry. Accreditation was valid for 3 years, with an annual review.

Quality

The Learning Grid created its Learning Grid Quality Standard for engineering and science activities. Accredited programmes featured in a Guide published each autumn which was available to assist teachers in choosing suitable programmes for their pupils. The Learning Grid also ran an annual showcase event at Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby in Northamptonshire.

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References

↑ MIA
↑ DTI announcement
↑ Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee March 2009 Archived 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine

External links

STEM IT

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[1] MIA

[2] DTI announcement

[3] Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee March 2009 Archived 2015-07-07 at the Wayback Machine