Since a young age I have always been fascinated by the way things work and how they are constructed, whether this involved dismantling my toys, or taking apart my siblings' prized possessions, I was always, and still am intrigued as to what enables components to function and how they are pieced together. The time I spent tinkering with models constructed from Lego, further developed my desire to engineer something until it works at its optimum potential. That desire leads me to apply to read an engineering degree.
I find the application of mathematics enjoyable, particularly the mechanics units i have been studying in the further maths course, which ties in to real world situations and enables the use of other methods to solve problems such as the forces affecting an object and how this effects its movement. In previous years I have achieved several gold certificates, in the maths challenges, and in year ten, I was asked to take further papers.
Physics has always been one of my strongest subjects as it meets the demands of my inquisitive nature. I naturally enjoy learning and applying science, both proven and theoretical, to problems and I am fascinated by how one can use it to explain the workings of the world around us. Through a keen interest in the chemistry, I am able to link aspects of this science to physics, for example how materials behave, and this allows me to further understand why things occur and how they happen.
My interest and commitment to engineering is clearly demonstrated by my design and technology work, where I like to refine concepts until completely satisfied with them.
During year 12 I partook in the Engineering In Education scheme, where I was part of a team of four, selected by interview, that worked on a project with the head of research and development at Alan Dick and Co. an international telecommunications company. We as a team designed and developed an automated surveillance system. During the project I was team leader for two months, this included collating, preparing and presenting a professional standard project report for assessment. I am also one of only 165 Arkwright scholars in my year. With an interest in engineering, I applied for this grant in year 11 and was selected following an aptitude test and interview. Succeeding in both of these, I was awarded the two-year grant, sponsored by the Royal Aeronautical Society.
I am currently undertaking my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and am due to finish early in 2007. For my award, I have completed two practices and my final expedition, which involved planning, and walking an 85km route over the highest peaks in the Brecon Beacons. I have also been visiting a junior school to help the less able year 3 pupils in their maths and English for my service section. In year 12 I was one of a group of students that ran a company in the young enterprise scheme. I was voted to be operations director, so oversaw all our ventures and organization. Our ventures included manufacturing and retailing CD racks and jewellery, selling and delivering valentines' roses, and running a live music event. The CD racks, I designed and developed personally.
I work part time for Central Sony Centres, where I am a sales assistant. This involves presenting the customers with a vast array of information and demonstration of the products, which cover the entire range from HDTV's to hi-fi and cameras. Other than sales, my duties include, the running of the shop, stock takes, customer service, and cashing up. This job gives me a wide knowledge of available technology and media as well as its future developments. It has also given me good public speaking skills and the ability to draw on information that I have learnt quickly and easily.
Balancing school work, extra curricular activities as well as a social life has taught me good time management skills, which I hope will stand me in good stead for a Masters degree in Engineering, and I look forward to every opportunity that it will present.
There's also nothing wrong with stretching the truth a little either - for example it sounds like I have a massive workload with very little free time, in truth I spend most of my time doing nothing useful at all 
I removed all the spaces between paragraphs and it was dead on the borderline.