Engineers turn ideas and designs into reality. After working at various placements alongside engineers who were doing exactly that, I have realised that communication and collaboration between different specialisations are essential. Therefore, I believe that a general Engineering course would prepare me better for the working environment. Furthermore, I wish to have a broader knowledge of the theories used in the various engineering subsets before specialising. I have strong academic foundations in both Physics and Maths and I enjoy applying my knowledge in these subjects to solve extension problems. With these skills, and a natural curiosity for how things work, I have been drawn inevitably to Engineering.

My interest in engineering drove me to cofound the Engineering Society at school, which organises talks on popular topics. After making a presentation to the Society on the Beijing Pollution Crisis, I became intrigued by environmental issues and organised a work placement at ***, an engineering company which designs and manufactures particulate monitors. I also researched the resonance problems of the Millennium Bridge for my Physics coursework and interviewed a structural engineer who was part of the project. This led to work experience in the Structural and Mechanical Engineering departments at ***.

"Not Much of an Engineer" by Sir Stanley Hooker, inspired me to pursue some independent research on turbofan engines and Mechanical Engineering. The section on beam theory from "The Science of Strong Materials" by J.E. Gordon was similarly compelling. I have participated in two different summer school courses run by Exscitec at Imperial College London, which have been insightful and helped me to understand more about problem-solving through teamwork. Also, I have directed problem-solving activities at school including heading a team to build a bicycle solely out of wood and glue. This required strong organisation and planning skills. Having limited materials and no model meant using visualisation techniques and imagination, in addition to Mathematics and Physics, in order to produce a working prototype. Furthermore, I learnt how to use CAD software such as Solidworks and began some basic programming at Imperial College London. This has been additional to the Microstation and GSA (analysis) programming I used at Foster and Partners.

While my academic and outside interests have prepared me well to study Engineering, along with the support of my parents who are both engineers, I believe I would benefit from spending a year working in an engineering firm. Therefore, I have applied to the Year in Industry (YINI) scheme and I have approached several companies separately, including Rolls Royce and McLaren. This work experience, coupled with the higher level Mathematics course I intend to follow during my gap year, will inform my university studies. In addition, because I was moved ahead a level in the French school system, this extra year could be used to acquire knowledge of the engineering world.

Complementing my academic interests, I have developed a range of leadership skills at school. At the Lycée, I was elected class representative every year, and at Westminster School I serve as a Monitor and Head of House. I have also been appointed Tennis Captain, leading the school teams while improving my tennis LTA rating to 4.2. In addition, I have worked as a tennis coach with young children, which has required patience and stamina, as well as volunteering at the West London Barlby Road Playcentre. Managing all these activities has helped to hone my time-management skills.

Studying Engineering at university would allow me to use the knowledge of Physics and Applied Mathematics that I have acquired so far to further my research into real-world problems. The opportunity to be a part of the design process together with a deep understanding of the theory, fuel my desire to pursue Engineering at a high academic level.