Mini Cooper visit

---

Whilst everyone else was enjoying a day off for the SET exams, a small cohort of Year 12 students set off on a quest to the Mini Cooper factory in Oxford.

Every 72 seconds, a fresh car drives off the production line. Too often we take the hard work of engineers for granted - from a simple Coca-Cola bottle to something as complex as a rocket ship, teams of the most skilled people in the world work together to make the world work. And your car is no different. Mini have quite literally “assembled” one of the most impressive state-of-the-art factories in the world, with the harmony of machine and man building the same authentic designs we have all grown to love.

After getting kitted out in some supposedly “trendy” safety goggles , a neon vest and a radio, we were led into the cauldron. Careful planning, precision parts and a twist of human touch help this factory operate like Amazon - just order your car online and wait for a few weeks as this factory brings it to life. You want an exotic colour? Maybe a Union Jack on the roof? It felt like an ice-cream parlour: something for everyone was available. As the empty chassis exited the “Body in White” area into the hands of the “associates” to kit out, it felt as if everything was being brought to life in front of our eyes, with the giant robotic arms deftly manipulating parts I wouldn’t be able to lift an inch off the floor.

But the day was not just about assembly line and manufacturing: from playing on the public piano at a service station (some applause for Parth and Husniddin!) to snapping some photos in the Mini Museum (was that really Old Wilsonian Michael Caine’s car?). Above all, it was a reminder of what is waiting for us aspiring engineers and designers. The adult world feels so far away, but as we are often reminded, it is much closer than we think. Our school trains us to be the great thinkers behind it is up to us to find our passions, and this visit was definitely part of that journey.

Article written by Aryaman