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www.southgatearc.org
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CARS School SuccessAt the end of 2006 the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) were approached by Penny Bunting of the King Edward VI Grammar School (KEGS) about providing an Amateur Radio course at the school. Penny is the KEGS Engineering Coordinator and runs the KEGS Young Engineers Club. The club, which is run outside of normal school hours, offers a wide range of engineering related activities to the pupils and Penny wished to include Amateur Radio as one of the activities. Under Penny’s leadership the KEGS Young Engineers Club was awarded 'Best New Club' 2006 at the National Young Engineer awards in London last September.
KEGS was founded over 450 years ago and it become a specialist Science College in September 2004. Its high reputation means the school attracts pupils from towns up to 20 miles away. CARS were keen to assist the school but to do so they had to rearrange their already full training schedule for 2007. It was agreed with Penny that CARS would run a six-week Foundation Training course at the school starting on Thursday evening 4th January. Due to the extensive range of practical assessments, such as the On-Air HF and VHF contacts, needed to get a Foundation licence the numbers on the course had to be restricted. Unfortunately this mean some pupils were denied the opportunity to take part but hopefully they will be able to join a future course. The course proceeded smoothly and all looked promising for the exam planned for 8th February. Unfortunately that day produced the only snowfall in Essex during the winter! As a result the school was shut down and the exam had to be cancelled. School Half Term then intervened and the exam was postponed until 22nd February, a gap of 3 weeks from the last tuition session. Of the 19 candidates 17 passed and they will now be attempting the next major hurdle of getting a licence from Ofcom's new online licensing system! After the exam the course lead instructor Christopher Chapman G0IPU was presented with a Thank You card signed by the pupils. The age of the pupils on the course ranged from 12 to 18 and the CARS tutors were impressed by their enthusiasm and commitment. They stayed at the school long after lessons had ended in order to attend the course, which ran from 6:30 until 8:30 pm. They were a credit to the school and all fully lived up to its motto "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10) The course could not have taken place without the support of the following CARS members: Christopher Chapman G0IPU To join a CARS Amateur Radio training course contact Clive G1EUC on
Related URL's: King Edward VI Grammar School KEGS Science Community Website CARS Training Pages
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