DBS join judging panel for Lindley Junior School’s Formula 1 Schools Competition!
David Brown Santasalo were recently invited to be a part of the judging panel for Lindley Junior School, Huddersfield’s entry into the Lenovo Formula 1 in Schools competition. The educational regional challenge takes place in schools across the UK from November 2024 through to early March 2025 for Primary Schools (9-11 age group) and Secondary Schools (11-19 age group).
The competition offers a way for pupils to learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) related subjects in an exciting way. The scheme has achieved great results and has found it has increased the intake of students into Engineering careers. Following the Regional Finals, the qualifying pupils will head to the National Finals at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.
The Lindley Junior School’s local competition was organised by Lara Hill, their STEM and DT Lead and Matthew Bottom, a Teacher at the school.
“The Year 5s have been designing their Formula 1 model cars, which are powered by Co2 cannisters. It is all part of a national championship and this is the first heat, where we ask local businesses to be involved in the judging. Following the judging we will select the best models, and those pupils will then go onto the regional & national championships. We were thrilled to have Wikus van der Merwe, an Engineering Lead from David Brown Santasalo involved in the judging panel. As the competition is designed to attract pupils into a career in STEM, its vital to have this kind of support from a business so engrained in the local community.”
The pupils at Lindley Junior school relished the opportunity to present their models to the judges, which included explaining their design choices and other details about their models, which goes a long way to helping them build their life skills. This is the third year the school has been involved in the competition and we are very much looking forward to seeing how they fair at the next heats!
“Race day is a culmination of months of preparation by pupils and teachers. On the day it was the “Speedy Slayers” who walked away with the honours from the judges, but for the regional and national competition the standout individuals will be grouped to represent the school. The day was well organised and really professional, the hardware was impressive for measuring the student’s reaction and finish time! I was not brought up in the UK so have never experienced a typical British school day, which included a school meal with all the trimmings and a trip to the teachers’ lounge! I wish them all the best for the next stages and look forward to further involvement in future!”
On behalf of everyone at David Brown Santasalo, we would like to thank Lindley Junior School for inviting us to take part in the judging of this fantastic event. We wish them all the best of luck in the competition and look forward to seeing the pupils grow through their STEM classes! Who knows, they could be joining DBS as the engineers of tomorrow in a few years’ time!
Find out more about the challenge here, https://www.f1inschools.co.uk/
