Mini motor racing team from Wilmslow High School impress the judges in F1 challenge

Wilmslow High School students were praised for their ‘bold’ pit display and branding when they took part in the national finals of a motor racing design competition – with support from housebuilder Jones Homes.

The A-level students called their team Exhausted Racing and designed and built a miniature F1 racing car as part of the Lenovo F1 in Schools challenge.

Jones Homes, which is building at five developments in Wilmslow, boosted the team’s efforts by donating £250 towards entry fees and the construction of their model racing car.

Simon Whalley, Sales Director at Jones Homes North West, said: “We sponsored the Wilmslow High School students in the early stages of the competition and so when they got into the finals we were pleased to help them out again.

“The team tackled the final competition with real enthusiasm. It’s quite something to put your work in front of a panel of expert judges and answer in-depth questions about it, but the students did an excellent job.

“The Lenovo F1 in Schools competition is a great challenge to take part in as it teaches the pupils about so many things that they will face during their careers including problem solving, working as a team and giving presentations.”

During the project the teams design their vehicle with CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, then analyse, make, and test their vehicle. As part of the process, students are encouraged to collaborate with industry experts and make links with businesses, raising sponsorship and developing a budget.

The team from Wilmslow High School qualified in March and took part in the finals on 29 and 30 June, at Leeds University.

On the first day of the finals the team delivered its business and enterprise portfolio, presented its pit display, and went to a design and engineering judging session. After that the students gave a verbal presentation to show what they had learned during the competition. The judges later described the pit display as “very eye-catching and bold.”

There was racing on both days. Exhausted Racing ended the first day in second on the leaderboard before eventually finishing a very creditable fifth in the overall competition.

Kirsty Regan, Curriculum Team Leader Design and Technology with Computing at the school, said: “This was a fantastic achievement as they finished fifth out of 33 teams representing England, Scotland and Wales and in places three to six there was nothing in the times.

“The Exhausted Racing team came away very proud of their achievements and it is a great competition to put onto their CV for university applications, especially for those applying for engineering degrees as it is well recognised.

“All of this would not have been possible without the support from all the sponsors, so I thank them greatly for all their ongoing help and support.”

The team will now go back to regionals in the next class up – Professional Class.

“Now that they have learnt so much they are going to go again, so it is back to planning and testing ready for the next race!” said Kirsty.

To find out more about the Lenovo F1 in Schools competition, visit f1inschools.co.uk.

Jones Homes is building at its Bollin Park, Sunfied, Bollin View, Sanctuary Court and Sanctuary Wilmslow developments in the town. For more information, visit jones-homes.co.uk.