Our year 10 maths learners were joined by Siria from Balfour Beatty for a masterclass on scale factor. Siria is a Graduate Highways Design Engineer. Her job role involves road design, drainage systems, road signs and road markings and traffic management.  

Having already supported the college in Employer Engagement activities, Siria has become an integral part of delivering employer led blended learning provision. 

Our visitor began the session with the question: what do you need before going on site? Although learners gave many different important suggestions, Siria revealed that answer was in fact drawings. When undertaking a construction project, it is integral to have a plan and visual representation of what is being constructed. Siria then discussed another key theme of the masterclass: sustainability and renewable energy. She discussed wind energy as renewable energy source. Wind energy harnesses the kinetic energy of moving air by using large wind turbines.  

After discussing the benefits of renewable energy, Siria discussed the need for scale factor and conversions when drawing plans to construct wind turbines. A scale factor can be used to enlarge or reduce a shape. Through this masterclass, learners were introduced to a new topic on the year 10 maths curriculum through the lens of an industry perspective. 

‘Our learners enjoyed discussing different sources of renewable energy. Through this masterclass, learners were able to use actual technical drawings and see first-hand how scale factor is applied in real life industry contexts when plotting wind turbines,’  Lena, Maths Teacher.