Dungeness B celebrates British Science Week

From reactors to robot arms, pupils from Cheam High School were kept busy as they celebrated the end of British Science Week at Dungeness B nuclear power station.

Around 40 students aged 15 – 19 from the school in Surrey toured the nuclear power station in Kent [on Friday 18 March]. They were able to see the turbine hall and a replica of the control room, as well as top of the two nuclear reactors that provide low carbon energy for over one and a half million homes. 

British Science Week, which runs from the 11 – 20 March, coincides with National Apprentice Week (14 – 18 March), and Dungeness B apprentices were on hand to speak with the students about the benefits of doing an apprenticeship and the opportunities at EDF Energy.

The apprentices also ran an activity where pupils had to work together as a team to build their own robotic arm, as well as think about how they would market and sell their product.

Nathan Bennett, 15, from Cheam said: “I’ve found it very interesting. I really like physics so it was good to see how all the machinery works together. We’ve learnt about nuclear energy in class but I think you have to see it in person to really understand and appreciate the scale of a nuclear power station.”

John East, physics teacher at Cheam High School said: “Visiting an operational power station is a fantastic opportunity to bring the subject of energy to life for our students. The team at Dungeness have been great in organising science related activities and talks, we’ll certainly come back next year.”

Karen Paterson, visitor centre coordinator, said: “We get a lot of school groups visiting who not only want to learn about the science behind nuclear energy but also want to hear from our young employees about the career opportunities as an apprentice, or in the nuclear industry on the whole. Encouraging young people into science is very important for our business and we’re always happy to tailor activities to suit teachers’ lesson plans.” 

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Notes to editors

Anyone keen to find out more about Dungeness B and nuclear power for themselves can visit the Dungeness B visitor centre. The visitor centre will normally be open Monday-Friday from 9-4pm and is open to members of the public.

Visitors will be given an introductory talk about how the station operates, and if booked in advance will be given a guided tour through selected parts of the plant. To book a visit the public can contact the station via: dungenessBtours@edf-energy.com or call 01797 343728.

EDF Energy in the South East

In the South East EDF Energy operates Dungeness B power station which employs over 500 staff and 200 contracting partners.

EDF Energy employs a further 2,500 staff in East and West Sussex with approximately 800 across sites in Crawley, Three Bridges, and East Grinstead and 1,700 across two of our three UK based call centres in Hove and Worthing..

As well as generating enough power to serve some 1.5million homes in this region the company also provides gas and electricity to 730,000 customers with over 20% of those opting for one of the company’s Blue+ products which are backed by low-carbon generation.

We make sure we buy enough electricity generated from a low-carbon nuclear source to match every unit of electricity we estimate our Blue customers use.

EDF Energy is proud to power up some of the largest companies in the UK, including sites for Tesco Stores Limited, Ministry of Defence and Morrisons right here in the South East.

Following a landmark agreement with Network Rail the company also provides nuclear-backed Blue energy to power up the UKs electric rail network, covering most of the south east of England and the main lines from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as the Merseyrail network around Liverpool and the Glasgow suburban network.