A private dinner club for the building services and built environment, originally formed in 1947 by engineers to address mainly technical topics around air movement, but which has since developed a broader view of potential subjects within building engineering services, is seeking to establish a two year GSCE programme dedicated to the built environment at a Surrey girls’ secondary school.
Named after Count Rumford, born Benjamin Thompson in America in 1753, and later a Fellow of the Royal Society who won acclaim for his design for domestic fireplaces, the Club provides an opportunity for ‘HVAC&R’ professionals to meet and debate key issues via regular dinner meetings.
Celebrating its 70th anniversary with the Rumford Legacy, the Club voted to sponsor a school under the ‘Class of Your Own’ initiative set up by Alison Watson at Design Engineer Construct (DEC!), an accredited secondary school student learning programme developed ‘to create and inspire the next generation of built environment professionals’. DfE-approved and accredited for schools in England, Wales, and Scotland, the scheme aims to provide knowledge and GCSE and ‘A’level qualifications specifically for the built environment that can be taken on to college and university.
With the help of its members, and international architectural practice, Broadway Malyan, the Club has successfully raised the £12,000 needed to set up the two-year GCSE programme at Norbury Manor Business & Enterprise College for Girls in Thornton Heath, which it is hoped will commence in September. For further information on DEC!, visit http://tinyurl.com/jfhvdl3, and on the Club, visit www.therumfordclub.co.uk, or email cathie@buildingsimulation.co.uk
