STUDENTS could not contain their excitement at The Big Bang event held last Thursday at Wiltshire College’s Salisbury campus, where it was proven science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) can be both interesting and worth pursuing as a career.

Around 200 pupils all based in the Salisbury area turned up Thursday morning to enjoy a huge selection of experiments and challenges, designed to test and teach new skills.

After success at the Chippenham campus in 2016, staff in Salisbury were more than happy to welcome The Big Bang to their campus, inviting external organisations such as Network Rail, Air Bus and Bloodhound to work alongside the Wiltshire College teaching team.

Denise Lloyd, assistant principal at the Salisbury campus, said: “This is an opportunity for students to try something new, and encourage them, predominantly women, to find something that they would love to do in future education.

“We wanted to raise the aspirations of students and show them everything on offer to them, and how you never know what these opportunities can lead to.

“We are also raising awareness of what the college itself can offer these students.”

With activities including virtual reality, the science behind popcorn, making slime, investigating a crime scene and making explosions, students were jumping up and down at the prospect of taking part.

Denise adds: “Being so proactive and visual is such a nice change from being sat in the classroom! And it’s a real treat at the end of the school year.”

Over the lunch period the fun continued as children enjoyed events such as glow in the dark badminton, rock climbing and table tennis.

To add to the event the college was divided into four zones named after legendary figures in the industry: Hawking, Newton, Nightingale and Brunel, and UE Boom speakers were the main prize up for grabs if students completed all 33 activities.

Melanie Booth, a catering lecturer at the college, said: “Children love getting involved with doing physical things and not watching, so they’re responding to these activities really well.

“I’ve heard lot’s of ‘oh cool’ and ‘wow’, which is a really good sign.”