A group of students from Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech put their design and building skills to the test when they visited Stainless Metalcraft in Chatteris. 

The company has been in business for 159 years and employs more than 100 people. 

The engineering students were asked to complete a bridge-building activity to see whose construction could host the most mass. 

They had paper and nuts and bolts to work with and each bridge was stress-tested 

Science teacher and subject lead for physics, Rhiannon Brittain, said: “Our students learned which shapes were the strongest, how to build braces to hold the structure steady and how to work as a team with a time limit. 

“We also had a tour of the facilities including the different workshops and many different machines. 

“The students were excited to learn about the varied routes into many fields of engineering.” 

Stainless Metalcraft has the Fenland Engineering Skills Centre and has 19 apprentices going through its comprehensive training scheme which lasts four years and includes both classroom and practical elements. 

The company delivers a range of pressure vessels and specialist fabrications across industries including nuclear power to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners for hospitals.