Prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship for Exeter School pupil - First Computer Science Award
An Exeter School pupil has been awarded a sought-after Arkwright Benefactor Engineering Scholarship that identifies him as one of the country's future leaders in engineering.
Lower Sixth Former Charlie Hill is the tenth pupil in twelve years to receive the prestigious scholarship, following in the footsteps of eight alumni and one current pupil.
These renowned scholarships provide pupils with a £300 financial award to enhance their A Level studies and a range of activities to increase their understanding and experience of engineering. Exeter School also receives £200 funding for each Scholarship awarded, which we are planning to spend on additional devices to interface with Arduino microprocessors which the Computer Science department already has.
Charlie was chosen for one of this year's awards after completing a rigorous selection process which included a detailed application form, a two-hour aptitude exam and an interview hosted at a top engineering university.
Charlie was delighted to be awarded an Arkwright scholarship. "I am very grateful to my school and my teachers for guiding me towards the scholarship and I am proud to be the first Computer Science pupil to receive one. With the first instalment of the money, I have built my own PC from scratch; I want to use it to learn more about operating systems and security. And I am also thinking of signing up for a summer course in Java programming."
Head of Computer Science Alice Pinches said she was very pleased for Charlie.
"Although the school is fortunate to have quite a tradition of Arkwright Scholarships, this is the first time one has been awarded on the basis of aptitude and potential in Computer Science. It is good to see that the awarding body recognises Software Engineering as an important discipline in modern engineering, alongside the more traditional branches that might spring to mind. I am pleased to help widen the pool of recipients and continue the tradition established by former Head of DT Nick Moon.
"The support and opportunities generated are a fantastic way to begin a career in Engineering and Charlie has some exciting plans which we are keen to help him realise."
Charlie follows alumni Kirsten Berggren and Jethro White (2009); Luke Stitson and David Salmon (2011); Ben Bryant (2012); Seb Wright and James Krafft (2013), Tom Wright (2019) and Upper Sixth Former Henry Coleman.
Arkwright Scholarships are respected by leading universities and industrial companies and are supported by top engineering employers and organisations such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, National Grid, Balfour Beatty, Microsoft Research, Thales, The Royal Air Force, The Royal Navy and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
The Scholarships are also funded by charitable donors including, principal donors The Reece Foundation, The Lloyd's Register Foundation, the Gannochy Trust, the Dulverton Trust, the Emmott Foundation and S.F.I.A Educational Trust.
Charlie was formally presented with his Scholarship by Alice Hutton of the Smallpeice Trust at a prestigious ceremony in London during October half term which was supported by The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
