GATESHEAD STUDENT TEAM CROWNED UK F1 IN SCHOOLS CHAMPIONS 2018

​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. 

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