Charlie Cadin, who is only 16 years old, has become an Arkwright Trust Associate, after rebuilding a 17-foot yacht and designing a surfboard made out of recycled materials – all whilst working on his GCSE exams.
The Victoria College student came up with the idea for his eco-friendly surfboard, which was made out of 2,500 wine bottle corks collected from local restaurants, as part of his Design and Technology GCSE.
Pictured: Young engineer, and now Arkwright Trust Associate, Charlie Cadin, made a sustainable surfboard out of 2,500 wine bottle corks for his DT GCSE exam.
Charlie hopes to pursue and adapt his designs for a greener, more sustainable surfboard. He told Express: “I am going to try with a few different sustainable and recycled materials instead of corks due to the weight, such as cardboard or polystyrene packaging.
“In the future I don’t think surfboards will be made with wine corks, however there will definitely need to be a change in the materials of surfboards to more sustainable, environmentally friendly ones.”
The scholarship from the Arkwright Trust – named after the renowned 18th century engineer Sir Richard Arkwright – will support Charlie throughout his A Levels, as well as providing him with further opportunities as he pursues his career in engineering.
Pictured: Charlie trying out his eco-friendly surfboard which contributed to his winning a prestigious Arkwright scholarship.
Commenting on his achievement, Charlie said: “After university, I’ll hopefully have a career in marine engineering, working with composites, fibreglass and carbon fibre so the scholarship will be a great help. I am really pleased and so are my family.”
Charlie’s DT teacher, Gabrielle Armstrong, is also pleased that he has received this recognition, saying: “Charlie is a self-starter with a genuine interest in all things engineering and this a fantastic achievement. It was an extremely tough application process which he did as well as taking ten GCSEs. This scholarship is designed to encourage people of the highest calibre to go into engineering and it is a golden ticket for students who want to study in this area at university.”
Charlie will be returning to Victoria College in September to start his A Levels in Physics, DT, Maths and Further Maths.
