Woodhouse School, UK
In Sept 2005 a new design student joined
Scholarship which forced Ian Nethercleft to think about how he could introduce an ‘engineering’ activity into her design ‘experience’. The F1 Challenge seemed ideal. All Lower 6th Product Design students were invited to formally apply for places in the F1 team.
The team secured sponsorship from ‘Suregrave Ltd’ who had supplied us
with our computer controlled router on which the car would be manufactured. In addition the team were lucky to have the opportunity to visit Prof. Peter Bearman at
The team spent many hours overcoming considerable difficulties but were able to complete the design and manufacture of a competitive car before the regional finals. The team weren’t confident when the time for the presentations arrived, but they had, in fact, ‘swept the board’ being awarded Fastest R-Type car, Best R-Type team and Best overall team.
The team went (optimistically!) to the finals at the NEC but were THRASHED because their car was so heavy compared with the competition!
The 2005/6 team had their wheels rapid prototyped out of ABS from ProDesktop CAD designs courtesy of
The team entered this year’s regional heats and they won ‘The fastest R-
Type Car’ and the ‘Best team’ awards for their age group plus a place in the National finals. They worked on the car to improve its performance using a wind tunnel and a virtual wind tunnel, designed their display to a high standard and prepared for their presentation better.
The car had clocked national record times on the test track in Leeds three days before the National final but on the day the car raced like a turkey and was considerably slower the competitors. The tears and deep gloom set in!
The team knew they had scored well in their presentation, their display, portfolio and the marks awarded for design and quietly hoped for third place. When the results were announced, our hearts sank when that place was awarded to another team. It was an enormous surprise when the team was awarded second place in their age category and also the ‘Most innovative design’ award.
Every member of the team loved the experience. They commented on how they would not have mixed with each other because of their different backgrounds and interests had they not been thrown together for the competition. Their interviews at university and UCAS statements have drawn on the experience to their benefit. They all recognise how they grew as individuals because of having to work as a team.
They have learnt a lot about the scientific principles underpinning the design of their car, how to communicate with each other and adults outside the team effectively and they are still talking and laughing about it nearly a year later.
Ian Nethercleft says “Getting involved with F1 in Schools was the best thing I could have done to bring engineering to life in my department. As a result the number of students opting to take up engineering at university has risen steadily year on year and doors have been opened to other opportunities related to engineering that I would otherwise have been unaware of. The students directly involved with the challenge have had enormous fun and have become very desirable to universities that recognise the extra dimension they have bolted on to their profiles through being part of such a rich team activity. Several of my students have returned from interviews saying that all the interviewer wanted to talk about was the F1 challenge! I recommend that you give it a go…”
