Enigma UK, a team of students from Robert May’s School in Odiham, Hampshire, took the chequered flag and won at the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge UK Finals held at Silverstone circuit last week to be crowned F1 in Schools UK Champions 2016. Their victory also won the team a place at the F1 in Schools World Finals 2016, being held in Austin, Texas, later this year just prior to the F1 Grand Prix.
Led by Team Manager, Katelyn Chelberg, 15, Enigma’s five team members with Ella Stevenson, Enterprise Manager, 15; Nathan Bryce, Design Engineer, 15; Sarah Matthews, Scrutineering Engineer, 15 and Cora Morrow, Testing Engineer, 16, put in a strong performance across all the judging categories to take the top step on the podium in this Formula 1 linked educational initiative which takes place in 42 countries across the world. They also won the Team Sponsorship and Marketing Award and were nominated in the Innovative Thinking Award category.
Katelyn said of the team’s achievement, “We worked really hard and really wanted this. We’ve put in so much work and meeting up for at least two hours every day for the last five months, so it’s really paid off. We’ve put in a lot of time on developing our car, but we know there is still room for improvement. We’ve done a huge amount of testing with our car, LERS, force balancing testing, CFD and also collaborations with other companies. We’ve learned so much through this competition, particularly how to communicate with team mates, how to work with other companies and understand how they work, so many life skills that you learn.”
The team will now prepare for the World Finals and Katelyn says, “We’re very excited about going to Texas, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It will all be worth it, having put so much effort into it. Having the chance to apply for the Williams Engineering Academy is a great opportunity as well, this competition certainly seems to open doors to the F1 industry.”
The team were presented with the impressive National Champions trophy by Gareth James from The Institution of Engineering and Technology. In addition to securing a trip to Texas for the World Finals, the team will visit the 2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix courtesy of Silverstone and two members of the team also win £5,000 per year bursaries for the duration of a Mechanical Engineering degree course at UCL Engineering.
The UK Champions were joined on the podium by second placed team, Sixth Degree, from The King’s School, who will represent England at the World Finals, and third placed team, Turbocharged from Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, who have the opportunity to form an international collaboration team to compete at the USA event. Northern Ireland Champions, Endeavour Racing from Carrickfergus Grammar School, will also be jetting off to the states, along with the Scotland Champions, Kinetikos Racing from Inveralmond Community High School and Wales Champions, Tachyon, from Denbigh High School.
Earlier in the week the F1 in Schools UK Rookie Finals was fought by 11 teams, with Team United from Kenton School in Newcastle Upon Tyne, taking victory and winning through to the World Finals. In addition to representing their country at the World Finals, all the F1 in Schools UK Champions and runners up receive tickets to the 2016 FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX practice and qualifying at Silverstone.
Andrew Denford, Chairman and Founder of F1 in Schools said of this year’s event, “It was certainly the biggest and best UK Finals that we’ve held since it’s humble beginnings over 15 years ago, with Silverstone circuit and the impressive Wing building being a great home for the competition, an inspirational environment for the competitors to take on the F1 in Schools challenge. The teams lived up to the location, with outstanding work on display, as well as tremendous effort put in over many months, with the students using so many advanced engineering techniques in the research and development of their cars, as well as the creativity used to deliver strong team identities and marketing programmes, just as in the Formula 1 industry.”
F1 in Schools aims to help change perceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in engineering, Formula One, Science, marketing and technology.
The competition challenges students to create their own Formula One team which is commissioned to design, construct and race the fastest miniature Formula One Car of the Future; a 21cm long scale model built from a modelling block and powered by a compressed air cylinder. Each team of between three and six students creates a ‘pit’ display and showcases their work in developing their race car. At the National Finals each team brings along a pit display, their cars and portfolio, as well as having prepared a verbal presentation for the judges. The cars race on a 20 metre track, with the cars covering the distance in around one second.
The F1 in Schools National Finals take place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters. F1 in Schools thanks Formula One Management, Autodesk, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Denford Limited, UCL Engineering, Jaguar, WNT, Silverstone Circuit, City University London, University College London, FIA Women in Motorsport, Luke 1977, Dare to Be Different, Engineering UK and Tomorrow’s Engineers.
