Our meeting with a knight!
Sir Anthony Cleaver Chairman of the Engineering and Technology Board
By H. Phan, A. Rigby and M. Shah.
Witton Park High School Blackburn Lancashire

Extract:
Sir Anthony went to a little village school which had limited resources. He says that the only science that he did there was biology which in his school days consisted of looking at nature! This is the reason that he got involved in The Big Bang festival (which he is currently chairman of). The Big Bang is one of the most successful ways to get children interested in science and maths! He said “The Big Bang inspires youngsters to get involved in engineering and makes innovators”

Our meeting with a knight!
By H Phan, A Rigby & M Shah

Swiftly, the doors of the elevator slid open. The three of us briskly stepped out towards the board room (at the Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) buildings, London) Nerves rung in our head. With the door already ajar, we entered the room and took our places at the table. There were around fifteen students from various schools around the country, already present. Once we were briefed on what was expected when meeting a knight we patiently waited whilst the teachers sat around drinking brews.

We tried to calm our nerves by practicing our questions and rearranging the room to be open and welcoming for Sir Anthony. We stood up when he arrived and the nerves came back in a rush until we noticed his bright red socks and realised he must be a laid back type of guy. He immediately told us to sit down and call him “Tony”.

Sir Anthony started off by explaining about the Big Bang Festival to be held in Manchester in March 2010. He was really enthusiastic about this event that he helped make happen which encourages young people from across the country to take up science and technology. However when Sir Anthony was asked if he enjoyed science at school he surprised us by saying that he chose Greek over science. After school and National Service he gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford, where he studied Literae Humaniores.

His interests include opera music, which he described as “magical”. He also enjoys swimming which he does every morning even though he is seventy-one!

One of his achievements was to help create the first cash dispensers which his peers said would not be used, especially by the older generation. He proved them wrong and was amazed at how well it worked. This is an example of how engineering can make life easier for people without them ever realising the technology behind it. As Sir Anthony said, “good engineering is almost invisible”.

One of Sir Anthony’s biggest concerns for the future is the environment and that science and engineering must be used to help the future generations of the planet. We, the young people, are those future engineers and scientists that can help create new technologies to solve the current environmental problems. Through these concerns he has set up ‘The Environmental Change Institution’.

Obviously science and technology is a big deal for Sir Anthony and he wants to get more school children involved in Primary Engineering Projects both during and after school. “I think it’s important to have exciting projects where you can push the limits” he said.

We were taken aback by just how much Sir Anthony Cleaver has achieved throughout his life including 32 years at IBM where he became Chairman and Chief Executive and he is still working tirelessly during what should be his retirement. He gave us the impression that he had no intention to stop working any time soon either. His determination was something to aspire to and he left us with a final piece of advice, “You can do anything you really want as long as you’re willing to work hard for it and stick at it”.