IT'S hard to comprehend that a lump of plastic started life as a potato.

The humble vegetable is renowned for its multi purpose; you can boil it, roast it, mash it but transforming it into plastic?

For youngsters at Brackenhill Primary School in Bradford, the process of turning potatoes into plastic formed the basis of an exciting project they recently participated in.

Run by J&J Projects, an organisation undertaking outreach work in schools, the aim is to encourage children to consider science and engineering as a future career.

According to Joanne Crowther, co-founder of J&J Projects, the UK currently has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe.

Figures from the Women in Science & Engineering (WES) website show that Latvia, Bulgaria and Cyprus lead with nearly 30 per cent.

But it is hoped projects such as this will help to encourage more girls to consider a career in what has traditionally been perceived as a male dominated industry.

According to Women in Science and Engineering, only nine per cent of the engineering workforce is female and only six per cent of registered engineers and technicians (ie CEng, IEng, EngTech) are women.

The proportion of young women studying engineering and physics has remained virtually static since 2012.

And the potential lack of engineers is posing a problem for the industry in general.

Sixty four per cent of engineering employers say a shortage of engineers in the UK is a threat to their business.

It is already widely acknowledged that the UK needs to significantly increase the number of people with engineering skills

In 2014, one report put the annual shortfall of STEM skills at 40,000. As of 2015, the annual shortfall of the right engineering skills is 55000 resulting in the need to double, at least, the number of UK based university engineering students.

During the recent project at Brackenhill, pupils spent the day creating eco-soap and bio plastic.

Joanne explains how the children will be able to take away a piece of their own eco-soap which they created and also some bio-plastic, achieved through a process involving extracting the starch from a potato by grating it and grinding it down with a mortar and pestle.

Working with schools and colleges throughout the UK and the British Council in Paris, J&J Projects have previously designed and built a fleet of 10 hovercrafts in a day during one of their school workshops.

As well as promoting science and engineering, the organisation is also keen to push the environmental importance too.

"A lot of people don't really understand what scientists and engineers do," says Joanne.

"It is giving them a taste of what science and engineering is all about."

She says it also demonstrates how scientists utilise their skills and knowledge to address climate change issues and try to reverse it such as making plastics in an eco-friendly way.

Joanne says it is important children are aware of climate change and also of the prospects of a potential career in science and engineering.

"And especially for girls, to give the girls more encouragement to think it is a career for boys and girls and not just for boys and give them more of a flavour about what they actually do," she adds.

Working with around 60 pupils, Joanne says they were 'brimming over with enthusiasm.'

"They were keen to ask questions and answered our questions well. Many of the pupils put up their hands when we asked who would like to be an engineer or scientist," says Joanne.

Helen Metcalf, headteacher at Brackenhill Primary School, says: "Brackenhill Primary was delighted to be the first primary schools to work with ‘J and J Projects’ on this award winning Eco project.

"We believe it is extremely important that our pupils understand the link between the subjects they learn in school and the wider world and future career opportunities in fields such as engineering. This project raised pupils’ awareness of environmental issues whilst also showcasing possible careers in engineering and clearly demonstrating that engineering is not just a career path for boys.

"Pupils have given very positive feedback and have thoroughly enjoyed the day and are looking forward to using the soap and bioplastic they have made. This has been a fantastic opportunity to extend pupils’ learning whilst widening and raising career aspirations. We would like to say thank you to ‘J and J Projects’ for working with the school."