MAGIS: ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Magis Talk – Electric Vehicles

Mr and Mrs Hertzke deliver a fascinating talk about electric vehicles for SJB STEAM Week

From the 6th to the 10th February, it has been STEAM week at St John’s Beaumont. The week has been packed with trips, visits, and exhilarating experiments. On Wednesday 9th February, our Upper School boys were surprised by the arrival of two special guests… or should I say four special guests?

Mr and Mrs Hertzke, parents of three of our SJB boys, brought two jaw-dropping cars to school, in line with Mr Hertzke’s discussion around electric vehicles.

The big question when buying a car nowadays is ‘electric or not?’ With environmental concerns taking a front seat in public discourse, buyers are considering if they should go for an electric vehicle next.

Mr Hetzke began his talk by addressing common misconceptions associated with electric vehicles, diminishing the negativity around size, charging and ‘goofy’ designs. He continued by educating the boys on the vastness of the industry, with electricity being used to power vehicles such as planes and boats and introducing them to the array of people he works alongside. Transportation contributes to 21% of the total admissions in the UK and EU economy, thus the switch to electric is imperative to the decrease in CO2 emissions in the long run. 

The boys’ contribution to the discussion was impressive, as they demonstrated creativity and critical thinking when thinking about ways to improve the environmental impact of the automotive industry. 

A few boys would like to share their experiences of the talk: 

“Today we had Mr Hertzke talk about the importance of electric cars and how they can cut our emissions By 167% but buying a petrol car from the dealership has less carbon emissions than an electric car because of the battery but after use the electric car has 167% less emissions than diesel we ended off Magis with Mr Hertzke showing us a renovated ford Angelia and an electrical BMW. 

My favourite part was when we got the chance to see the cars parked on the front gravel.”

– Reuben (Year 7)

On Wednesday we had the great opportunity of having a Magis with Mr Hertzke, who made an amazing speech on electric cars and the future of our roads. He then went on to talk about how electric cars work and how they are made. After this, we did a short quiz where we split up into our animal groups and we had an exciting and competitive time trying to get our ideas down onto a large whiteboard. We then went outside to go and view the same car that was used in Harry Potter and the philosophers stone movie, and was then compared to a modern-day electric BMW IX. Mr. Hertzke was then greeted by the Head boy (Alexander Lai-Cheong) who then said thank you and presented him with a gift alongside David (Cosmo) Abernethy. Overall, we think that all of the boys had a really enjoyable time listening to this interesting Magis. We would like to thank Mr. Hertzke for taking the time and effort in making the power-point and showing us how electric will shape our future. 

– Joshua C (Year 6), David A (Year 8) and Alexander L-C (Year 8).

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