Member Article

Students gearing up for F1 success

A Durham based business and IT consultants have given four GCSE students the opportunity to compete on an international stage as part of the Formula 1 in Schools competition. Stephen Donald, Michael Dennis, Kallum Moses and Scott Marriot all attend Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College and, after appealing for backing through The bdaily, have been sponsored £300 by Waterstons to enter the competition, which sees students compete from 20 different countries.

The team, called Speedstar, will be manufacturing a “Dragster D-Type” vehicle which will compete against other schools and youth groups in order to find the fastest and best engineered car.

Team leader Stephen Donald said: “The cars race around the 20m track reaching speeds equivalent to 220mph and the world record is less than a second so it is a really heart stopping race. We compete first on a regional basis and then the best team is put forward for the national and then international competition.”

The sponsorship money will enable the team to make two or three working models before combining the best properties of each into the final model. The project gives the students the opportunity to gain invaluable experience of the design and engineering industry as well as the ability to work under pressure and communicate successfully as a team.

Andrew Kershaw, Waterstons’ Technical Director, said: “Both Judith and I took part in The Year In Industry scheme and were supported by local businesses before we went to university so it’s great to be able to give something back to the community. The Speedstar team gave a really impressive presentation and we are thrilled to be able to help such an enthusiastic team of young people.”

The date for the regional heats is yet to be announced, but will take place in Newcastle between October and December next year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .