The students from Challney High School for Girls, Challney High School for Boys, Putteridge High School and Lealands High School examined the principles of flight before working in teams to build their aerodynamic paper aeroplanes.

The winning design was created by of Jake, Robert and Shadi from Challney High School for Boys and and Putteridge High School, whose craft flew an incredible 15 metres.

The workshops are part of a partnership between the University and the RI, and are designed to go beyond the school curriculum and bring maths and engineering to life in surprising topics such as art and sculpture, design, medicine and cryptography.

Senior Lecturer in Building Technologies & Construction David Jazani is running the masterclasses that cover a range of topics, including building bridges, embedded systems, robotics and mathematics in nature.

David said: “The Royal Institution masterclasses give me a chance to pass my enthusiasm for the subject on to a younger generation. Hopefully through the masterclasses I will have inspired at least one person to take up engineering and technology.”

The students were assisted by members of the University’s School of Computer Science & Technology and its Access & Outreach team.

The University recently announced its plans to build a £40m building devoted to teaching and research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at its Luton Campus.

Further information about RI masterclasses can be found here: www.rigb.org/education/masterclasses