Harrow Way’s Green Power Challenge Go Kart, donated to the school by the Joseph Stannah Foundation, made its racing debut recently at Goodwood Motor Circuit.
The 12-strong team of Harrow Way students, supported by three Stannah engineers, were at the historic race track in Sussex for the first Green Power race of the season. Other than a quick test drive around the school’s tennis court this was the first opportunity for the three drivers to put the go kart through its racing paces.
Allocated race number 192, the driving team had a practice race which threw up some issues for the student and Stannah engineering team to address ahead of race one. Starting on the main grid in position 73, drivers Summer, Joseph and Chloe performed well but had some technical difficulties on the final two laps meaning everything hinged on the last race. Supported by family members in the stand and with the pit crew on hand, the team finished their first ever race day with a very respectful midfield win.
Commenting on the team’s success Donna Robertson, Curriculum Leader of IT and Computer Science said: It was an amazing day seeing everything we had worked towards since September all come together. We’re so proud of the team who have worked so hard and learnt so many new skills supporting the drivers. We went hoping just to get off the start line and get around the track so to finish our first race midfield is amazing. Now we can work on upgrading the car ready for our next race at Castle Combe race course on 17th September and improve our finishing position.”
Commenting on the value of the project and the opportunities their child has gained from being part of the Harrow Way race team, one parent on the day said: ” As parents, we feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed the team work and the dedication of the Harrow Way staff, students and Stannah engineers. We had not heard of this opportunity until our son got to participate as part of his STEM club activities. The team staged well drilled pit stops and got to race against many more experienced teams on the full Goodwood race circuit. What a fantastic opportunity to introduce children to the world of engineering and design. Our thanks go to Mrs Cook, Mr Cleeves and in particular, Mrs Robertson, Stannah and their engineers for their time and energy.”
Along with support from the Joseph Stannah Foundation, which donated the go kart to Harrow Way, and Stannah engineers providing valuable mentoring to the students, the team was also supported by Cool LED which provided funding for the helmets and TRUMPF Laser UK Ltd which provided the gloves.
Richard Baugh, Programme Manager at Stannah.said: “We were so impressed with the attitude of the Harrow way students at Goodwood. With so many cars and teams there was a lot to think about. All of the students got a chance to be part of it and by the last race, the team were working as a well-oiled machine. It was great to see everyone’s different skills come to the fore in a competitive environment. The whole development and build of the car has been brilliant and hopefully inspired some of the students to think seriously about a career in engineering.”
Greenpower Education Trust is a UK based charity which gets young people enthusiastic about science and engineering by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car. The Trust supplies age appropriate kit cars, which can be built in school, college or elsewhere and raced at motorsport venues at Greenpower organised events. The Challenge is adapted to suit three age appropriate categories: 9 to 11, 11 to 16 and 16 to 25. It is the only STEM enrichment provider to run the same basic concept across such a wide age group, allowing for excellent progression throughout.
