​Unity, a team of 16 and 17 year-old students from Emmanuel College, Gateshead, celebrated winning the F1 in Schools UK National Finals 2018 this week, proving that determination and perseverance is rewarded, taking the UK Champions title at their fourth attempt. Their success wins them a place at the F1 in Schools World Finals 2018 in Singapore in September, alongside the FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX, 
 
Tickets to the FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX courtesy of Silverstone Circuit, exclusive paddock access at the event from Formula 1, a Formula 1 team factory tour, two £5000 scholarships for UCL Mechanical Engineering and Denford equipment worth £10,000 for their school were also prizes for the victors. Unity also won the Best Engineered Car Award on their way to the UK crown with the judges commending the team on the design, manufacturing and Engineering of their F1 in Schools car. 
 
Amid tears of joy on the top step of the podium, Unity Team Leader, Lucy Brooks, said, “I’m speechless. It’s unbelievable; we’ve all worked so hard for this, so I think we deserved it. It’s been a long road, but so worth it. We’ve been together a long time now, so our teamwork is certainly a factor in our success. We have a huge amount of work now to prepare for Singapore, making sure our car is as good as it can be. We know that competing at the World Finals can open doors to careers in Engineering so that is a great opportunity for us. We’re very excited to be heading there.”
 
Joining Unity on the podium after two days of fierce competition were Origin, a team from Robert May’s School, Odiham, who will represent England at the World Finals and Hawk Racing from Colyton Grammar School, Devon, who have the opportunity to collaborate with an overseas podium-winning F1 in Schools team at the World Finals.  Also heading to Singapore will be DRIVE from Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni representing Wales and Velocity Racing from Inveralmond Community High School, Livingston flying the flag for Scotland. 
 
Team AcceleRace powered by Inoapps, an F1 in Schools Development Class team from Linlithgow Academy, Scotland, also won a place at the World Finals, after taking the F1 in Schools Development Class Champions title earlier this week. 
 
Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman, F1 in Schools said of this year’s UK National Finals, “I’m blown away by the standard we’ve seen this year. The students have put in an amazing amount of work, displaying an exceptional level of Engineering, design, and business skills and being excellent ambassadors for their schools and for STEM learning. I’m delighted to see Unity finally take the crown, they’ve shown such perseverance and have never given up on their dream of representing the UK at the World Finals.”
 
“The skills developed by the students is almost unnoticed as their passion and motivation to design the best car possible takes over. It is only at the conclusion of this event when they reflect on their work that they realise how far they have come and their skills have developed whether that is confidence, CAD/CAM expertise, leadership, time management, or Engineering. I’m very proud of every student, team and teacher involved in the programme, they demonstrate just how STEM in action can be invaluable in education.”
 
The F1 in Schools UK National Finals, held at the home of British motorsport, Silverstone circuit, brought together the top 42 teams from around the UK, who had won through from ten Regional Final events held earlier this year. The teams had taken up the challenge to design, build, test and race a miniature F1 car, with the last two days being spent having their entries judged in a number of categories including scrutineering, Engineering, verbal presentation, pit display and enterprise portfolio as well as the car’s speed being tested on the Official F1 in Schools track, a 20 metres long drag strip, which the F1 in Schools F1 cars cover in just over a second. 
 
The F1 in Schools National Finals 2018 took place with the assistance of a host of sponsors and supporters. Amongst these are the IET, Autodesk, Denford Ltd, Airbus, City, University of London and UCL Engineering. 

The leading global educational Initiative, the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge, unveiled a new logo at the F1 in Schools UK National Finals held at Silverstone Race Circuit last week. Incorporating the new Formula 1 logo launched last year, F1 in Schools’ new look visually reinforces the challenge’s status as Formula 1's official education initiative. 

The logo will be used by the F1 in Schools programmes that run in 45 countries with a phased introduction around the world through 2018 and replaces the original logo that has been used for the last 13 years. The new look for F1 in Schools complements the recent launch of a new suite of official F1 in Schools equipment from Denford. 

Andrew Denford, Chairman and Founder of F1 in Schools explains, “We are very proud to have the support of Formula 1 and with the new era of the sport under Liberty Media, it was appropriate to review our visual identity and to bring it into line with their new branding. We would like to thank Liberty Media for allowing us to incorporate the new F1 logo into the F1 in Schools logo. 

“Our relationship is continually developing with Liberty Media, as we have seen with the grid and podium access granted to our World Champions in Sepang, Chase Carey’s attendance at our World Finals Awards and Formula 1’s online promotion of our activities. We look forward to building on this further and supporting Formula 1 through our programme in the coming months and years.” 

Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing & Communications, Formula 1, added, “We’re delighted to continue working so closely with F1 in Schools as we break down barriers and engage the next generation in STEM and the opportunities within Formula 1. With the rebranding of Formula 1 and its new identity it was only fitting to extend it into this education programme that is reaching a global youth audience.” 

The new Official F1 in Schools product range is spearheaded by the Official F1 in Schools Race Track that brings together an ergonomic design with a lightweight track, high tech digital display Start/Finish gates with Wifi data transmission and an integrated cable management system It also includes rugged Start Boxes, a Deceleration System, Air Trace Visualisation System, F1 Model Blocks, CO2 Power Packs and Car Manufacturing Fixture for CNC Routers. The new hardware is complimented with Denford CNC machinery and a suite of CAD software. 

The F1 in Schools STEM Challenge has forged ever-closer links with Formula 1 over its 19-year history. In 2005 Bernie Ecclestone gave his support to F1 in Schools by granting the Challenge a world-wide protected trademark and a new logo in 2005. Since this time, F1 in Schools has provided the sport with a platform for promotion to the younger generation, taking the sport right into the classroom, educating and inspiring a passion for Formula 1 with one of the most important audiences for a sustainable youthful future. 

The competition challenges students to create their own Formula 1 team which is commissioned to design and manufacture a miniature Formula 1 Car starting with an F1 in Schools model block and a CAD software programme, with the car being 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. The cars race on a 20-metre track, with the cars covering the distance in around one second.   The students compete at regional, national and international level, with the national winners having the potential bonus of travelling internationally. The World Finals have been held in a variety of countries including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and the USA where the events are held in conjunction with the F1 Grand Prix being held in that country. The World Finals brings together the best students to compete for the coveted World Champions trophy and valuable university scholarships and bursaries.
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F1 in Schools is a not-for-profit company established with committed partners to provide an exciting yet challenging educational experience through the popularity of Formula 1. Spanning age ranges of 9 to19 its main objective is to help change perceptions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by creating a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to develop an informed view about careers in Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Formula 1, Marketing and Technology.