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Kernow King praises puffing devil steam engine

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Kernow King has given the royal seal of approval to engineering students who built him a replica of the Puffing Devil steam engine.

Edward Rowe, aka the Kernow King, supplied engineering students at Cornwall College St Austell with a design brief to create the engine, which is being used in his new informative show on Cornish Mining history.

The show is touring schools throughout Cornwall and Edward explained that the students have “brought something special back to life”.

“It seems so authentic and I am thrilled. It’s fantastic,” he added.

Edward had already worked with the College on a similar project for his ‘Trevithick’ show, however the design brief for this one was to make it smaller and more manageable to transport to local primary schools.

The new show is a reworked version of “Trevithick”, the informative comedy that toured Cornwall and beyond celebrating the great work of Richard Trevithick and the first steam engine called the Puffing Devil.

The latest project utilised all the engineering milestones and key skills the students had learned on their course.

Carpentry students added their skills and students worked collaboratively to bring the woodwork and engineering together. This improved communication skills between the students which is key within all trades.

Level 2 Engineering student at Cornwall College, Jack Spencer, said working on this project was “brilliant”.

“I feel I’ve really improved on my existing skills and we can show future employers a fantastic project which we have worked on.

“The steam engine is very realistic, it puffs and it has a smoke machine inside. I think it is brilliant that Kernow King will really encourage more young people to get into engineering.”

Jack explained there were some challenges with the build, but everyone worked as a team to overcome them.

Course Manager for Engineering at Cornwall College St Austell, Luke Bazeley, said the students should be “really proud of how well they have worked as a team”.

“Our next project is a full size transformer robot statue to greet students and visitors to the Skills Centre here on campus,” he continued.

“Projects like this really does enhance the students skill sets and adds to the individuals CV so when potential employers ask what extra the student has done they can show them these projects.”

The Level 2 Engineering course covers machining, welding and electrical engineering and gives the students exposure to all areas of engineering so they can establish which path they choose to take upon completion. This can be either gaining an apprenticeship or progressing to the Level 3 engineering course.

There is a Course and Careers Advice Morning at Cornwall College St Austell on Saturday 14th March 10am until Midday where the campus is open for potential students and families to look around facilities and meet lecturers.

For more information on the range of Engineering courses available across The Cornwall College Group visit www.cornwall.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523.