Boys’ design skills put to the test as Whitworth wins DTE House Challenge 

Boys’ design and engineering skills were on display as they took part in the School’s annual DTE Inter-House Challenge.

This year’s task was to design and build a device that could successfully remove small ‘contaminated waste’ canisters from a cordoned off area and deposit them in a safe zone, all within a specified time limit.

Prior to the final on Tuesday (16 May), four students from each House had spent time developing and manufacturing their design solutions, before all teams competed for the coveted DTE Inter-House trophy (with Amazon vouchers as an added incentive for the winning team).

To add to the challenge, canisters were allocated different points based on size and weight, while teams were also awarded points for the quality of the design and construction of their devices.

Richard Day, Head of DTE, said: “Houses approached the problem in different ways and it was great to see a range of innovative solutions. It was vital that teams were not only precision operators of their devices but also had a strategy to ensure the canisters they removed were worth the most points.

“This year’s Inter-House Challenge was another successful contest, which tested the boys’ teamworking and creative skills but was also good humoured and lots of fun.”

Whitworth emerged as winners, with its team developing an efficient and quick method of removal. Parkside followed closely in second place, with Ferox taking third.