Taylorian 2020

38 News News I n response to the shortage of personal protective equipment for the NHS and other key workers, the school quickly put its facilities in the D&T department to use and manufactured face shields for the NHS, care homes, and pharmacies. Andrew Duffey and his team started by using the 3D printers to make face shields, before switching to a more efficient design which used a laser cutter. A BBC London News team visited the school to film in the Design Centre and interview Andrew Duffey and students who were helping with the manufacture of the face shields. After seeing this feature, OMT Jonathan Duck from Amtico Flooring got in touch and offered to make the components of the visors’ headbands. This greatly improved the scale of production from around 650 face shields a week to around 4,500. The news feature raised awareness and demand for the school’s face shields, and BBC News reporter Guy Lynn visited Amtico to cover the story again. Amtico is now working with the Design and Technology Association to produce many more face shields and supply many more hospitals. As well as distributing the face shields made in the D&T department, support staff from the school have delivered aprons, gloves, goggles, hand gel and food to local hospitals, hospices, surgeries, pharmacies, food banks, and schools. Thanks to their hard work, the school has been able to play its part and support the wider community. To take one example, the School responded to a request from Hertfordshire County Council to assist the Fairway Care Home in South Oxhey as their team prepared to reopen the facility in response to COVID-19. The home had recently closed down and was being reopened to support patients leaving hospital but not yet ready to return home. MTS provided Jamie Williams as a volunteer to work alongside the care home team and coordinate our support. Andrew Duffey provided PPE manufactured in the Design Centre. Our Grounds Manager, Richard Ayling, provided plants to improve the outdoor space, and Steve Mitchell, one of our gardeners, volunteered his time to restore the gardens and assist with planting. Shirin Irani, our School Accountant, helped out with her son Alex during a day of annual leave to support the team. Students have also been helping their local communities with a range of tasks, from helping at local pharmacies to collecting for food banks. Mr I D Williams COVID-19: Community Support OMTs Suraj Shah and Nikhil Patel wore PPE manufactured by the school at Stoke Mandeville ICU OMT James Holt collected PPE for the London Ambulance Service