When I was a kid, I used to race on a tricycle with my friends. I envy today’s kids who ride their Firefox’s and Cannondale’s of the world. But what’s coming up next is just forcing me to go back to school.
A team of school children who were mentored and supported by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars successfully completed the Greenpower IET Formula Goblin race at the Goodwood Motor Circuit on Sunday. The group of 10 boys and girls, aged between 5 and 6 years, built and piloted a specially developed electric car in a race against teams from schools across the UK. ‘Team March’, from the March CE Primary School, adjacent to the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, finished well up the order and scooped the prize for ‘Best Bodywork’.
The team visited the Home of Rolls-Royce to meet and take inspiration from the apprentices, engineers, craftspeople and Bespoke designers that helped with the design and build of their car. ‘Team March’ were also presented with specially hand-stitched race overalls prepared in the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Leathershop before posing for a photograph in the Analysis Centre as the car underwent final pre-race checks.
The team of 9, 10 and 11 year-olds worked together to design the car – proposing ideas on how the final car should look before agreeing on a group direction. A team from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars then helped them turn their vision into reality, teaching the children fundamental engineering, manufacturing and teamwork skills in the process.
Expressing his views on the event, Andrew Ball, Global Corporate Communications Manager and Team Leader for the project, said, “We were delighted to support the March CE Primary School with their Greenpower entry. The team at Rolls-Royce were impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and passion for the project and we have no doubt that they are engineers of the future.”
The race was organised by the Greenpower Education Trust, a charity that aims to promote sustainable engineering and technology to young people across the UK. Since inception in 1999, GreenPower has rapidly grown and now works with 500 schools and over 8,000 students.