Education Scene 1

Stephen: Come on, Ash! I’ll drive. Give me the keys!

Err, why won’t it start? Did you leave the lights on last night?

No, I didn’t, Ashlie.

The car won’t start. And Stephen was supposed to give me a lift to the shops.

I think it might be the battery or maybe that petrol thingy.

OK, Stephen. Which one’s the battery?

Erm. is it that one?

Erm, that’s the radiator.

How old is this car anyway? It’s always breaking down!

And we never know how to fix it. Come on. I’ll see if I can find a mechanic and you can make us a nice cup of tea.

They say it’s going to cost a hundred and forty pounds to send out a mechanic!

A hundred and forty pounds?

That is it! We’ve got to learn how to fix that car ourselves. Oh, hey, have a look at this, Stephen: ‘This course is intended to help people who want to save money on car service and repair bills.’

Let me have a look. Ah, ‘By the end of the course you will have a good understanding of car electrical systems, wheels, tyres and brakes.’ Hmm, sounds good!

Right. I’m going to call them to find out when the course starts.

This was such a good idea, Stephen. Think of all the money we’re going to save on car repairs.

Yes, but I didn’t expect to be in a classroom. I wanted to get my hands dirty and work on real cars.

We will. But first we have to learn some theory. Theory, then practice.

So, this is a standard four-stroke engine… So, when the piston, here, reaches the top, the spark plug, here, will ignite the fuel and push the piston back down and then.

This is so boring. When do we start with the real work?

This is really useful. You have to know how it works before you can fix it.

inside here – so this is a water jacket. So that’s what cools down as the piston’s moving up and down, it creates friction, which creates heat. OK. So, out of the exhaust, through the centre-box and then through the rear exhaust.

I’m exhausted. When are we going to do some real repairs?

Shh.

We’re going to take a break now and then we’re going to the workshop and we’ll look at some brakes, OK?

Ah! Finally!

OK, we’re going to start with some simple checks. They should only take a few minutes to do. I’ll show you first and then you can have a go yourselves.

We should have done this course years ago. We’re going to save so much money.

Yeah, this is more like it.

OK, well done everyone. Let’s have a look at what we’ve learnt so far. So, who can show me how to check the oil? Ashlie?

Yeah.

And how about radiators?

Ooh yeah, me. I can do that.

Be careful. Be careful!

Stephen! I told you you needed to listen to the theory!