Earlier this month, we shared that six alumni were producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS workers, and since Easter, we have heard from more alumni who are involved in similar work.
Alumnus Dominic Evans, Head of Product Design Technology (DT) at Dean Close School in Cheltenham, has joined the efforts, and has made 1,000 visors. The school produced a couple of different versions of the visors, with one model costing approximately 90 pence per unit to produce - with all visors being donated. Dominic graduated from º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ with a degree in Industrial Design and Technology with Education in 1999. In a school article, he said:
“It is great to be able to use our resources that were sat idle during the school closure, for some good.
“I know there are a good number of the DT community across the world doing what they can at the moment, be it from home or, on site where they can get access.”
More than 300 visors were made at Ladybridge High School in Bolton, where alumnus Philip Cotton (Industrial Design and Technology 2003) is Assistant Director of Standard for Design & Technology and Art. One of the first schools to support the effort, Ladybridge featured in a BBC News report in March.
Having raised more than £8,000 for materials, alumnus Thomas Banham (Industrial Design and Technology 2012; PGCE 2013), a teacher at Oakham School in Rutland, has been involved in producing thousands of shields. Working alongside colleagues at the school and Rutland Plastics, Tom and the team hope to continue their work to support the NHS and are looking at producing around 30,000 visors.
In Coventry, husband and wife duo Lorna and Simon Trout are producing masks from home, using school materials to contribute to the effort. Lorna (pictured below) shared on Twitter “home has now been turned into a factory!”.
