Wednesday 8th of March was a big day for our F1 in Schools Teams, an early start 5.30am, saw them pack up their Pit Displays and box up their Race Cars before heading off to Newcastle University for the Regional Finals of the F1 in Schools competition. The 3 teams, all S2 students, had been working hard during the past few months, giving up lunchtimes and after school, researching, designing, making and testing in preparation for Race Day.
F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge in which teams of students aged 12 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered cars made from F1 model block. It is a unique global platform for the promotion of Formula 1 and partners to a youth market. It is a unique global platform for the promotion of Formula 1 and partners to a youth market. The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way.
Our 3 teams took inspiration from the fact that we believe we are the only school in the world to have had 2 F1 race winning drivers as students at the school, David Coulthard and Innes Ireland, and from Dorethea Pullinger who set up and ran the Galloway Cars factory, just outside Kirkcudbright, wgere cars were designed by women, for women.
Competition at the finals was tough with many of the other teams being older and having more experience than our students, however, although they did not come away with the top prizes they were awarded first in specific categories.
Well done to everyone involved, they were a credit to the school.
