The four teams were among seven schools from Selby who built the electric race car provided by Drax Group as part of its £35,000 initiative to boost STEM (science technology engineering and Maths) skills.
Staff from Drax worked with the youngsters to help them build their car, with the power firm also providing each school and college with the tools they needed for the project, which culminated in the special street race event at the end of April, organised by Greenpower.
Representatives from four of the schools received their awards at an event at Hull’s Guildhall.
The pupils from Selby Abbey Primary School went home with a trio of awards, including the overall award in the category for younger entrants and the Spirit of Greenpower award, presented on the night by Drax Power CEO Andy Koss.
Judges praised the Selby Abbey team for ‘representing the saying that it’s about the taking part, not the winning’, highlighting how they had worked together to solve issues on the day and even brought along cheerleaders to urge the team on.
Among the other winning teams were Selby College, which came home six minutes ahead of their nearest rivals in a one-hour endurance race, and Camblesforth Community Primary School, which picked up three awards on the night having finished first in one race and second in in two other challenges.
Barwic Parade Community Primary School picked up two awards, including one for having the best bodywork on the day – after the team designed their car to look like the school’s mascot, Herbie the Bear.
Jo Jennings, Head Teacher at Selby Abbey Primary School, said:
“It was a fantastic evening for the pupils and everyone who has contributed to this project at our school. They all thoroughly deserve this recognition.
“I’m incredibly proud of the time and effort everyone has put into this and it’s been a brilliant way to get our children engaged with STEM subjects. They have learnt new things and had a great time working as a team to build and then drive the car. It’s been a real centrepiece of our lessons and other pupils will benefit from it in the future too.”
Drax Power CEO Andy Koss, who was one of the judges at the event on April 28, said:
“It’s great to see so many of our schools coming away with awards – my congratulations go to everyone who took part in this project.
“The commitment from all of the schools has been exceptional – it’s really sparked the students’ imaginations, which is what it is all about.
“It’s really important that we find fun and exciting projects like this to engage young people and encourage them to study STEM subjects. It’s vital if we are to ensure that the next generation has the skills that innovative businesses like ours need.”
ENDS
Media contacts:
Mark Duffell
MCD Communications Ltd
E: [email protected]
T: 07969080272
Jessica Gorton
Drax Group Press Officer
E: [email protected]
T: 07712677177
Editor’s Notes
- Four primary schools – Barwic Parade, Camblesforth, Selby Community and Selby Abbey – received a 15mph Goblin G2 battery-powered car, which students and teachers then assembled.
- Older students from Selby High School, Holy Family Catholic High School and Selby College built the more powerful Formula 24 car, which can reach speeds of up to 30mph.
- Both cars took around 15 hours to build, with the teams also designing their own bodywork.
- The primary school teams took part in a series of drag and slalom races in their Goblin cars. The top drivers from each team then raced against each other in a final 1km circuit through the city centre.
- Students from the secondary schools and colleges raced the F24 cars around the same circuit in an endurance test. The teams had to switch between three drivers and maintain their cars during the race and the winner was the team which completed the most laps in 90 minutes.
About Drax
Drax Group’s ambition is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. Its 2,600-strong staff operate across three principal areas of activity – electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production.
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable electricity generation assets across Britain. The assets include the UK’s largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country’s electricity needs.
Having converted two thirds of Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK’s biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station – a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan. It also owns and operates four gas power stations in England.
B2B supply:
Drax owns two B2B energy supply businesses:
- Haven Power, based in Ipswich, supplies electricity and energy services to large Industrial and Commercial sector businesses.
- Opus Energy, based in Oxford, Northampton and Cardiff, provides electricity, energy services and gas to small and medium sized (SME) businesses.
Pellet production:
Drax owns and operates three pellet mills in the US South which manufacture compressed wood pellets (biomass) produced from sustainably managed working forests. These pellet mills supply around 20% of the biomass used by Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK’s homes and businesses.
For more information visit www.drax.com
