It will be a day to remember for BLACKOUT, a team of students from St John’s College, Cardiff, who celebrated winning a place at the F1 in Schools World Finals and setting a new UK speed record at the 2021 F1 in Schools National Finals held last week at the F1 in Schools headquarters, Brighouse.
The team of students: Amaan Ahmed – Team Leader (14), Hiya Ray – Logistics and Finance (15), Layth Yacob – Sponsorship and Graphics (14), Adam Chowdhury – Engineer and Media (14) and Daniel Andrews – Engineer (15), were runners up to champions, SBA Avidity Racing from Scarborough UTC and will represent Wales at the World Finals.
Amaan, Team Leader said of setting a new UK Fastest Car record of 1.036 seconds: “There are no words to describe how we feel about having the fastest car. It’s team chemistry, lots of hard work and sleepless nights that were the secret to our success.”
The team scored high marks in the judging categories, with the team creating an interactive wind tunnel in their pit display, prepared sponsorship proposals and a promotional video to secure support for the team. The team explain what makes them special saying, “Our team is unique because of all the things we stand for. We are a young and diverse team, and we aim to show this in everything we do. We have gone out of our way to encourage younger teams, especially girls, to take part in the competition! Our eco-friendly ethos also sets us apart from the competition.”
A younger team from the school, Team Firestorm, also celebrated winning an award, the Portfolio Award for Development Class. Three teams from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern, Cardiff, added to the tally of trophies for Wales, with Astra winning Professional Class Pit Display Award, Hypernova taking third place overall in Development Class and Imperium winning the Development Class Sponsorship and Marketing Award.
Andrew Denford, Chairman and Founder of F1 in Schools said of this year’s competition, “Every year we see more innovative, more professional, more sophisticated presentations at the National Finals and once again the teams have raised the bar. We’ve seen the cream of young engineering talent at this year’s finals and I’m sure that many of them will consider a career in industry, which makes me very proud. We are already seeing F1 in Schools ‘graduates’ taking roles in the automotive and F1 sectors, as well as using the initiative to stand out from the crowd in their efforts to win university places and, ultimately, positions within industry.”
F1 in Schools, now in its 21st year, is the biggest, most exciting student STEM initiative. Researching, designing, making, and racing an F1 car of the future is at the core of F1 in Schools. Teams then race each other head-to-head on the F1 in Schools 20 metre racetrack. The challenge can be used as an education tool or hook to engage students in STEM subjects. This gives students the opportunity to develop key skills such as communication, presenting and teamwork, while forming the foundation for any career path they choose to follow.
The F1 in Schools National Final took place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters. F1 in Schools thanks Autodesk, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, UCL Engineering, Alpine F1 Team and PMIEF.
