Two Year 12 students at Applecross Senior High School in Western Australia used their engineering knowledge to make a real impact for their peer. Dylan Hudson and Tom King spent months designing and building a custom boccia ramp for Ryan, a Year 8 student with quadriplegia who wanted to play the Paralympic sport independently.
The project emerged when the students recognised that standard boccia ramps required someone else to release the ball, limiting Ryan’s ability to participate fully. Working through their Engineering Studies course, Dylan and Tom consulted directly with Ryan throughout the design process, incorporating his preferences including painting the ramp his favourite colour and adding a League of Legends logo to the release mechanism.
The process involved welding metal struts, joining wood and metal materials, and creating a mechanism Ryan could activate from his wheelchair. Their solution gave Ryan the independence to play boccia on his own terms.
What you can try: Connect with students who face accessibility barriers at your school and ask them directly what would help. Approach teachers in practical subjects like Engineering, Design & Technology or Woodwork about incorporating real student needs into class projects.
