Students at Roedean School in Sussex got the chance to put their STEM work into practice this month when they raced an F24 electric car they had built – on the same racetrack that TV’s Top Gear team use as a test track.
A group of Year 11 and 13 girls travelled to Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey with their F24 on a trailer to compete against many much older teams – the age group category was 16-24 meaning university students were also competing.
The event is organised by the Greenpower Education Trust which is a charity set up to harness the excitement of motorsports to encourage young people into STEM. More than 10,000 people participate in the event each year across the age groups.
Roedean’s team of drivers Clara, Fen, Derin and Evelyn started out by taking part in a three-lap practice session as they assessed what needed changing and tinkering with in the wet conditions before the races in the afternoon.
Teacher Mr Hawthorn, who took the girls to the event, said: “We realised that we needed to work out a better method for changing drivers, so, after the practice session, it was back to the pits for a battery change and practising the transitions. Open the lap buckle, loosen shoulder straps, climb out, next driver in, tighten straps, and away. Simple to say, not so easy under race conditions. Satisfied that we had everything under control, all that remained was the race.
He added: “It was quite a race in the end. We didn’t win, but we finished, the car performed without any problems, and the drivers managed the difficult conditions like they’d been doing it for years. The competition from teams with far more experience was fierce. We achieved our pre-race day aims, and everyone had a great day out, even those who didn’t get a chance to race.”
The girls came 37th out of 50 and reported learning an awful lot from the experience.
Said Fen: “‘I had an awesome time going to the F24 race, it was great seeing all the other teams’ cars and it definitely gave us some good ideas for next time. Driving the car was definitely a highlight for me!”
