​We are delighted to announce that this year’s Lenovo UK National Final will be held at the fantastic University of Leeds on June 29th – July 1st. The three-day event will see over 50 teams from across the UK competing for a place on the podium and a coveted space at the 2024 Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals.
 
Covering ages 9 - 19, the Secondary Class will compete over the first two days, and the Primary Class will run over the final third day; with the winning teams assessed across a variety of areas – including car speed, engineering quality, brand identity, verbal presentation skills, and portfolio judging.

F1 in Schools’ UK Project Manager Tom Milner commented on the upcoming event, “We’re so excited to be hosting this year’s event at the University of Leeds. One of the most prestigious universities in the UK, with a globally renowned School of Mechanical Engineering, it really will be a delight and an inspiration for the students to spend time there this summer. Plus, it’s brilliant for F1 in Schools to host its UK National Final in its local region; Yorkshire is home to some fantastic STEM companies, and what better way to celebrate all it has to offer than with an event committed to finding and inspiring our next generation of future engineers and pioneers?” 

​If you're travelling to Leeds for the event, and would like to view a list of nearby hotels, a comprehensive list is available on the University of Leeds website here, you can also download the Key Information PDF below.

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​To get a feel for what's in store this summer, take a look at the highlights from last year's National Finals in the video below.

Leading global STEM challenge, F1® in Schools, has announced an extension of its partnership with Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF). An exciting three-year programme of project management training and education, including an expansion into primary schools in key countries, is being developed for the F1®in Schools competition. 

The expansion of the F1 in Schools X PMIEF partnership, which began three years ago, will build on its success. The initial phase included training, resources, and support from PMIEF to introduce project management processes into the competition. Over the next three years the partnership will focus on continuing this integration, developing an E-learning platform, and launching F1 in Schools Primary Class into 30 new territories.  

The E-learning platform will be an innovative and exciting new learning environment which will be open to all, reaching new schools and more students with the award-winning F1 in Schools programme. The platform will be content driven with engaging courses bringing STEM to life through Formula 1 with videos, challenges, and a dedicated project management module. The ultimate ambition is to launch a fully digital version of F1 in Schools with no barriers to entry and available to all students to compete virtually.  

F1 in Schools Primary Class has seen rapid growth and, from its initial launch in the UK, has expanded internationally. With the support of PMIEF, this programme of development will introduce project management skills to 9–11-year-old students in more countries over the next few years, using curriculum resources developed to support classroom learning.

Anabelle Denford, Project Director at F1 in Schools, will be leading the rollout of the expanded PMIEF programme. She commented on the partnership, “I am thrilled to continue the work with PMIEF, building on the success that has been achieved over the last three years, which has already benefited many students to date. Project management is an invaluable and transferable skill for our participants to learn, and we are eager to broaden its scope to encompass new age groups and regions.”
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​Olivier Lazar, PMIEF COO, PMI Vice President for Youth & Social Impact commented: “Supporting F1 in Schools is helping to build competencies for tomorrow. Project management helps our young leaders take an idea and create a plan to help execute it, and the technical skills in engineering and sustainability will help make these ideas and plans a reality.  Automotive is one of the fastest changing industries today. The transition to electrical vehicles, autonomous drive and new economic models will shape the way we travel, deliver goods and interact with our planet. All of this creates an opportunity for project managers to make these things happen..  Our expansion into primary schools demonstrates our belief that everyone can benefit from project management, whether as a skill they carry for the rest of their lives, or skills they take to design the next Formula 1 race car.” 

School student teams from around the UK are set to compete at the Lenovo F1 in Schools UK National Finals 2022/23. The Autosport International Show at NEC, Birmingham will host this prestigious event with secondary school students competing on 12 and 13 January, and Primary school pupils racing on 14 January. 
 
The Lenovo F1 in Schools UK National Finals draws together successful teams from regional finals and the cream of young engineering, entrepreneurial and creative talents will compete for the F1 in Schools UK National Champions title. Success in the National Finals brings with it the chance to compete at the F1 in Schools World Finals, which will be held later this year alongside an international Formula 1 Grand Prix. The younger students will be aiming to become the F1 in Schools Primary Class National Champions. 
 
A 20-metre official F1 in Schools race track will be the focus of the racing action, with National Finals teams racing their miniature Formula 1 cars along the track in the blink of an eye, at around one second. Surrounding the track will be the ‘pit’ of each team, showcasing their work to design and manufacture the scale-model racing cars. In addition, teams will have engineering, portfolio, verbal presentation, project management and pit display judging sessions. 
 
Visitors to Autosport International will be able to watch the racing, tour the pits and find out more about the competition from the students. F1 in Schools will also be showcasing its Primary School challenge throughout the show days with younger visitors able to have a go at making their own Formula 1 car and racing on the specially designed track, a highly interactive STEM learning tool. 
 
As Title Sponsor Lenovo is providing support for F1 in Schools and working with the leading STEM education programme to expand its schools network and showcase the Lenovo education products to the schools involved in the F1 in Schools programme. 
 
Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools, comments: “We’re looking forward to students competing in a live event again at the National Finals and crowning our new F1 in Schools and Primary Class UK champions. We’re also very proud to have Lenovo partnering with us for our UK programme, it’s an exciting time for us with Lenovo bringing us the opportunity to develop our profile in the UK and help us to deliver the programme into more UK schools.” 
 
The F1 in Schools National Finals take place with the assistance of a host of partners and supporters.  F1 in Schools thanks Lenovo, Denford, Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Autodesk, Department for Education, UCL Mechanical Engineering, FIA Girls on Track/Motorsport UK, City University London, FIA Women in Motorsport, and Formula Student. 

We are proud to be exhibiting at @MACHexhibition at the NEC Birmingham between 4-8 April 2022.
Come and test your reactions 🚦🏁 on the #F1inSchools track and find out what it takes to be a champion 🏆

​MACH 2022 IS THE UK’S BIGGEST EVENT FOR INSPIRING, INNOVATING AND CONNECTING MANUFACTURING.

Register now: https://registration.gesevent.com/survey/29yxn0q97uzy8?actioncode=NTWO000871CPJ&partner-contact=2et3a808viv3p
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It will be a day to remember for SBA Avidity Racing, a team of students from Scarborough UTC who celebrated being crowned UK National Champions at the 2021 F1 in Schools National Finals held last week at the F1 in Schools headquarters, Brighouse. The team win through to the 2022 Aramco F1 in Schools World Finals, receive work placements at Alpine F1 in Enstone, Oxfordshire, UCL Engineering bursaries to the value of £5000 and the UK Champions trophy. 

​SBA Avidity Racing with team members Missy McArdle - Team Principal and Business Manager (17), Libby Atkin - Project Manager (16), Alex Jenkin - Design and Manufacturing Engineer (17) put a supreme effort into winning their F1 in Schools National Champions title. SBA Avidity also won the Best Engineered Car Award supported by Williams Racing and Team Principal, Missy McArdle, won the Girls on Track UK Award supported by Motorsport UK.

Missy, said of winning the Champions title, “It hasn’t sunk in yet as to what we have achieved. We’ve put in hundreds and hundreds of hours staying late after school for many, many evenings, but it was all worth it. F1 in Schools offers so many opportunities for everyone, whether you go to the best private school or a local secondary school, it’s open to all. Winning the Alpine F1 placements is amazing. I can’t actually believe we’re going to be doing work experience at an F1 team.”

“The next step is the World Finals. We think we’ve done a lot of work now, but I know there will be so much more work for us ahead. We’re so immersed in it right now, but we just need to keep stepping it up and get to that next level. We’ve spotted areas of improvement for our car, how we want to re-design it and go again.
 
 We want to give our partners a massive shout out, to thank Scarborough Business Ambassadors, Nissan, Igus, BDC Machinery and Carter Bearings for all the help they’ve given us, our car wouldn’t be at the level it is now without their help and support.”
 
Blackout, from St John’s College, Cardiff were the runners-up to SBA Avidity Racing, also receiving an invitation to the World Finals to represent Wales. They celebrated setting a new UK speed record during the competition, with their car recording a time of 1.036 seconds on the official F1 in Schools track, surpassing the previous record of 1.041 set in 2019. The third placed team, Eclipse from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham join Blackout and SBA Avidity Racing at the World Finals. Scotland will also be represented at the World Finals, with Fibonacci from James Gillespies High School & George Heriots School, Edinburgh taking this honour. The Development Class champions, Anemoi Racing from St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith, London were delighted to take victory in this category and win a place at the Aramco 2022 World Finals too.

Andrew Denford, Chairman and Founder of F1 in Schools said of this year’s competition, “Every year we see more innovative, more professional, more sophisticated presentations at the National Finals and once again the teams have raised the bar. My congratulations go to SBA Avidity Racing for taking the title; they put tremendous effort into their entry and it is a testament to their determination to succeed that they achieved their victory.
 
​“We’ve seen the cream of young engineering talent at this year’s finals and I’m sure that many of them will consider a career in industry, which makes me very proud. We are already seeing F1 in Schools ‘graduates’ taking roles in the automotive and F1 sectors, as well as using the initiative to stand out from the crowd in their efforts to win university places and, ultimately, positions within industry.”
 
F1 in Schools, now in its 21st year, is the world’s biggest, most exciting student STEM initiative. Researching, designing, making, and racing an F1 car of the future is at the core of F1 in Schools. Teams then race each other head-to-head on the F1 in Schools 20 metre racetrack. The challenge can be used as an education tool or hook to engage students in STEM subjects. This gives students the opportunity to develop key skills such as communication, presenting and teamwork, while forming the foundation for any career path they choose to follow. 
 
The F1 in Schools National Final took place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters.  F1 in Schools thanks Autodesk, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, UCL Engineering, Alpine F1 Team and PMIEF. ​