Sponsored Editorial

The Rochester Bridge Trust is offering a £5,000 prize to support science education in the county.

All state secondary schools, colleges and academies in Medway, Maidstone or Tonbridge and Malling are eligible for the award, with the winner decided by public vote. There are also scholarships available for students across Kent.

The Trust, an ancient charity which owns and maintains three bridges across the River Medway at Rochester at no cost to the public, has launched this giveaway to schools to support STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) learning and encourage the next generation of civil engineers.

The winner will be the school that receives the most votes from the public – one person, one vote, please! In the event of a tie between two or more schools, the winning school will be picked at random from those with the greatest number of nominations.

Nominating a school is easy and can be done by clicking here. The deadline for voting is midday on Thursday 29 February 2024.

The winning school will be announced during British Science Week, 8-17 March 2024. Terms & Conditions apply.

Cash for students

In another initiative to promote engineering, the Trust is offering individual scholarships to students planning to study A-levels in maths and physics and/or design and technology. Students intending to study for the IB Diploma are also eligible, but must be taking a higher-level maths course.

Successful applicants will receive £300 a year for two consecutive years, while studying for their A-Levels, and their school at the time of application will receive a one-off payment of £400 to put towards STEM education.

Two different scholarships have been launched. The Harriott Engineering Scholarship is open to non-selective state school pupils living or studying in Medway, Maidstone, and Tonbridge and Malling. The Telford Scholarship is for pupils from state selective schools (grammars) anywhere in the historic county of Kent, which includes the modern-day boroughs of Bexley and Bromley.

The deadline for applying for this year’s scholarships is Monday, 8 April 2024.You can find out more at rbt.org.uk/scholarships.

Why is the money being given away?

The Rochester Bridge Trust was established in 1399 to provide a crossing over the River Medway at Rochester at no cost to the public. Over 600 years later it is still fulfilling its primary purpose; providing and maintaining the iconic Old Bridge, the 1970 New Bridge and the little-known Service Bridge between the two. In previous centuries it also helped fund bridges in Maidstone, Tonbridge and other locations across the county.

Over its long history, the Trust has employed some of the country’s most noted engineers – Henry Yevele, John Rennie, Thomas Telford, Sir Joseph Bazalgette, Sir William Cubitt and Sir Basil Mott. And to help ensure there will always be a bridge at Rochester, the Trust is committed to inspiring the next generation of civil engineers.

This support for education dates back over 150 years and includes establishing and funding Maidstone Girls Grammar School and Rochester Grammar School,as well as providing major funding for two of Kent’s boys’ grammar schools.

The Trust offers a range of free education support, including its books Learning About Bridges; Let’s Build a Bridge! a practical construction challenge for children to build a bridge large enough to walk across; grants to support the purchase of STEM learning materials and relevant travel; and visiting school and community groups to run activities.

To find out more about education activities visit rochesterbridgetrust.org.uk.