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FORMULA One may have stalled in the kingdom this season but that has not stopped young motor sport enthusiasts from racing ahead with an annual school challenge.
The Formula One in Schools technology challenge is a multi-disciplinary project where students in teams have had to research, design and manufacture a racing car out of a block of balsam wood with 220mm x 65mm x 50mm dimensions.
The entire project spans a whole school year with students meeting up two afternoons every week to complete the project. Despite the upheaval caused by school closures during the height of the political unrest earlier this year, the pupils at St Christopher’s School were determined to carry on, but decided to pull out of entering the international competition.
“F1 in Schools is a challenging educational experience and despite some unexpected disruptions this year, the teams conducted themselves in exemplary fashion. I am very proud of their efforts and determination,” said school co-ordinator, Natalie Ross.
“The teams put on an impressive display of talent, professionalism and team spirit. I hope they will take away positive experiences and that they build upon this to emerge stronger than ever next year.”
Seven teams and guest racer, Jibi Varghese, a design technology department technician, competitively raced their cars last week.
Five of the seven teams continued on to compete in the main competition for the prestigious St Christopher’s F1 in Schools trophy. The teams were Team Phoenix – Ayesha Shaheen, 14, Sanjana Sarkar, 13, and Maryam Helmi, 14, 7th Gear (aka The Bumble Bees) – Ayesha Shaheen, 14, Sanjana Sarkar, 13, and Maryam Helmi, 14, Team Swift, Jeremy Joseph, 17, Leon Saadi, 16, and Marc Steene, 15, Team X-celerate - Rishi Kumra, 12, Marvin Fuerst, 12, Mitchell Sandy, 12, and Gautam Kovoor, 12, and Kaleidoscope – Seb Summers, 15, George Summers, 12, Joe Gallagher, 12, Salah Shaharuddin, 12, and Chris Beaty, 13.
They were all assessed on the speed of the cars, reaction times, design processes, team identity, presentation skills and portfolios.
Normally the winning team gets to compete in a global challenge in the UK but entry was withdrawn this year as a result of the unrest in the country and the disruption caused to schools across the island.
David Axtell, a school governor and one of the judges, said: “The participating teams continue to push the boundaries and bring innovative ideas to the competition.
“This year I have witnessed for the first time completely co-ordinated and sponsor-branded uniforms – even down to the shoelaces, the introduction of team websites and Facebook pages, contracts for sponsors and even the use of a video to introduce the team.
“Combined together, St. Christopher’s could make a much greater impact on the international competition in future years.”
Team Swift had the fastest reaction time of 0.160 seconds and Team Phoenix had the fastest car at 1.300 seconds but the overall winner and winners of various other categories will be announced at the final school assembly tomorrow.
