Following on from the success of the 2016 Arkwright Day at the National Radio Centre, Bletchley Park, the RCF, assisted by the RSGB, organised another day in February.
The students who were lucky enough to secure a place at this year’s event were sent a copy of the Foundation Now! book so that they could self- study prior to attending. The plan was to spend the day covering the syllabus so that at the end of it they could all sit the Foundation exam.
On arrival they found that a classroom had been set up for the connecting of a station, antenna tuning and Morse appreciation elements of the practical. The NRC was used for the VHF contacts and the main station GB3RS, was used for the HF contacts element.
The students were split into small groups and rotated around the various modules as the day progressed.
One of the highlights of the day was the generosity of Bob McLeod, VP8LP, in the Falklands, who had arranged to speak to the first set of students only but eventually called in at various times of the day to speak to all of the students.
Following on from their preliminary studies the students were able to quiz the helpers during the day in preparation for their exam. The questions were varied and it was difficult to remember that these were just 16 year old students as they displayed a level of intelligence and maturity that belied their years.
So, to the exam! We are happy to report that the majority passed with flying colours with one student obtaining full marks and another 24 out of 26. Afterwards a couple of the students asked for details of their local clubs, so we may well have achieved the objective of the day, encouraging youngsters into amateur radio.
This was another pleasing and successful day which we are hoping to be able to repeat either later on this year but definitely in 2018.
We would like to thank two RCF Arkwright scholars; Milo 2E0ILO and Roseanna, M6SHH for their invaluable help during the day, Graham G7OSR, Martin G3ZAY, Kieran 2E0NCN, and of course Bob, VP8LP. In particular our thanks go to Steve Hartley and Trevor Gill, RCF Trustees, whose unstinting work made the day such a success.
