F1 in Schools finals see pupils race to victory at University of Bath

More than 300 school pupils from across southern England took their places on the starting grid last week for a high-speed engineering challenge at the University of Bath.

Youngsters from 26 primary and secondary schools, aged nine to 19, competed in the South West regional finals of F1 in Schools, the official education initiative of Formula 1. The event, hosted at the university for the first time, tasked students with designing, building, testing, and racing miniature F1 cars.

The winners of the competition’s top ‘professional’ class were Ceres Racing from The Crypt School in Gloucester, whose car shot down the 25-metre track in just 1.17 seconds.

Jack Bywater, Ceres Racing Team Principal and an 18-year-old aspiring motorsport engineer, said: “It’s a great competition and we’ve learned so much taking part in it. Although the cars are miniature, you can change a lot about their design, and it’s been really interesting to see the approaches other teams have taken.”

Each team’s car is made from an F1 in Schools kit, which includes the necessary materials to construct the chassis, as well as wheels and axles. The cars are powered by CO2 canisters, propelling them along the track at speeds of up to 75 kilometres per hour. In addition to racing, teams were judged by experts on their broader teamwork and their ability to explain their design and manufacturing decisions.

A total of 45 teams from schools across Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Dorset, Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Devon, and Greater London took part. University of Bath students, including members of Team Bath Racing Electric—who compete in Formula Student events in the UK and Europe—offered competitors advice and support ahead of the finals.

The event was organised by Samuel Bull, a mechanical engineering lecturer and aerodynamics specialist at the university’s faculty of engineering and design. He said: “We’re absolutely delighted to host F1 in Schools for the first time. It’s amazing to see so many young people putting such effort into the contest and showing real interest in learning how to design, manufacture, and race their cars, as well as doing things like raising money and attracting sponsorships.

“We have some fantastic facilities and expertise here at Bath, and it’s great to be able to showcase them to help these young students, many of whom might be visiting a university campus for the first time, as they learn about engineering, design, and STEM subjects.”

Bath’s hosting of the event was driven by Zachary Taylor, a second-year politics and international relations student at the university, who won the F1 in Schools world title in 2023 as a pupil at Robert May’s School in Hampshire.

He said: “F1 in Schools changed my life. I took part in it for five years while at school and learned so much about engineering through making the car, but also about enterprise and earning sponsorships. Although I decided to study politics, I was offered a scholarship to an engineering degree after we won the world championship, so I know how many opportunities the competition can create.”

Tom Milner, project director for F1 in Schools, added: “We’re always so pleased to see the culmination of all the effort the teams put into their projects, and all the excitement created by the competition. F1 in Schools is a wonderful way to encourage children to learn about STEM subjects and beyond, either through school projects or extra-curricular clubs.

“We’ve been made very welcome at the University of Bath, and it’s been amazing to see so many students from the university helping out.”

The national F1 in Schools finals are scheduled to take place later this month.