Fresh from their success in Abu Dhabi, the F1 in Schools World Champions, Colossus, from Robert May’s School in Hampshire have not quite finished celebrating.
Along with competitors from their school, they attended the 2015
F1 in Schools South East England regional finals at Chelsea Football Club in London.
The regional finals saw a new crop of teams pitting their skills against each other, all aiming to emulate the UK and world success of the six brilliant students from Colossus.
Colossus were there to collect their City University London scholarship certificates, which they earned through their triumphant win. They were also presented with a trophy for smashing the World Speed Record.
Mr Philip Cain, Head of Design Technology at Robert May’s School, the team’s lead-teacher, has led a number of successful national champion teams from the school. After Colossus, he has two other teams competing in regional and, hopefully, national finals this year.
He said he was immensely proud of Colossus team members’ great determination to learn, to improve and to win. They raised over £20,000 in sponsorship; liaised with academic institutions and with industry, developing their engineering knowledge way beyond their years.
“It has been a pleasure to travel this journey with the team,” said Mr Cain. “Their determination has inspired me, too, to develop my knowledge of aerodynamics, to pursue academic partnerships and to do everything I could to facilitate the creation of the best car they could make.”
The Institution’s Education Advisory Group sponsored Colossus with £3000. Peter Finegold, the Institution's Head of Education and Skills, commenting that they had shown professionalism throughout.
Congratulating them, he said: “The future prosperity of the UK is reliant on young people like Team Colossus, and an education system that provides opportunities for young people across the nation to apply the science and maths they learn at school to real life problems. I’d like to extend the IMechE’s congratulations to Philip Cain at Robert May’s School, who mentored the team to its success.”
Colossus team members reflected on some of the achievements that taking part has earned them – from extending their own learning, to discovering how engineering fits in with our world. Each of them sees their future studies and career within the broad scope of engineering:
Vicky Waterfield, Team Manager
“Through leading the team, I've developed my knowledge of business and management. I have gained many skills by being part of the F1 in Schools programme, all of which will be priceless in my future.”
Rachael Matthews, Scrutineering Engineer
“Through creating the scrutineering protocol I have developed my analytical skills as well as learning the importance of being accurate, responsible and thorough. I would like to continue studying automotive engineering and stay close to Formula One.”
Paul Cumner, Design Engineer
“I have gained huge amounts of knowledge about automotive design and the aerodynamics of a world-record-breaking car. I designed and developed a new water tunnel testing system that gained us the innovation prize at the world finals. This competition has really given me an insight into engineering.”
Emma Baldry, Graphic Designer
“Our campaign developed many of the skills that I can apply in my desired future career path, potentially in the legal side of the automotive industry. These include finance management, collaboration with other businesses and communication through social media”
Dan Warnes, Manufacturing Engineer
“Throughout this competition I've developed my knowledge and understanding of mechanical engineering, when working on the wheel systems, as well as aerodynamic principles on the car. I have been inspired by the work of the IMechE to help improve lives by being creative, sustainable and efficient.”
Charlie Flynn, Design Engineer
“Taking part in STEM competitions is something that can be of huge benefit to every student in the world. These subjects are so widely applicable in any career. My advice to anyone planning on competing in F1 in Schools is: be persistent, be creative, and find the right people to help you along the journey. In our case, one of these groups of people was the IMechE.”
Find out more about
F1 in Schools.