Who takes it? Mainly boys, although the girls who do it generally do extremely well Problem-solvers like it How cool is it? Not very. Anything to do with the manufacturing industry is a bit unfashionable in this country. Added value: You will be in great demand from friends for assembling Ikea furniture What subjects go with it? Maths and science. Modern languages help, because engineers are in demand globally.
What degrees does it lead to? A wide range of technological degrees. Will it set you up for a brilliant career? It could, because Britain doesn't produce enough engineers, yet our quality of life is highly dependent on the consumer products for which they are responsible. Starting salaries are good, at about pounds 20,000 for a graduate. By mid-career, you could be earning up to pounds 60,000, and engineers often go into senior management positions with big money. What do the students say? Edwige Nlassa, 17, of City and Islington College, London, says: "My ambition is to work for Nasa as a satellite engineer, so that's why I'm taking the course. I'm in my first term and I'm really enjoying the technological side of science.
We've been doing computer- aided drawing and it's good because the subject feels like it is related to a job It's great fun. I think every girl should do it." Which awarding bodies offer it? AQA, OCR, Edexcel. How widely available is it around the country? It is offered at most colleges of further education, and a lot of schools.. An exhaustive archive of Britain's 45,000 war memorials becomes available for public viewing today. An exhaustive archive of Britain's 45,000 war memorials becomes available for public viewing today. Academics and family-tree compilers will be able trace the names of the fallen dating back to the 17th century through the National Inventory of War Memorials at the Imperial War Museum in London. It records every known marker of national conflict, from simple wooden crosses retrieved from First World War battlefields in France to cenotaphs and inscribed sculptures for members of the armed forces killed in the Falklands and Gulf wars.Five hundred volunteers took 12 years to complete the computer database, which aims to provide a valuable research tool for military historians and genealogists.
