We are extremely proud to announce that Invictus Academy Trust will be the first Education Trust in the country to become an 'F1 in Schools' Academy!
As we have previously shared, both Leasowes and Kinver have a rich history in the F1 in Schools events, with teams from both schools winning awards at a regional level with Leasowes' Team Aspire 6 making it all the way to the National Finals on 2 occasions. The success of this team, and the other teams they have inspired at schools throughout the Trust have gone a long way to helping us secure our accreditation, and will now mean THOUSANDS more of our students, and our primary schools within our communities will have access to the programme which will be based at all of our schools!
Mr Stuart Chatterton, Director of Design, Technology and Engineering for the Trust, has seen first hand the benefits of the programme, having guided teams through the entry, development and professional classes:
"It is a huge honour to become the first Academy Trust in the country to receive this status, more importantly it will mean that ALL of our students, and students in our primary feeder schools will have access to the F1 in Schools programme. This news means that Invictus schools will become a Design & Manufacturing Hub for our region, our schools will host our own test events and regional competitions, excitingly our schools will be equipped with state of the art equipment, including 3D printers, CNC machines competition grade race track, an air trace visualisation tunnel plus much more. Needless to say our schools will regularly compete against each other, but it also means we will support and host the brand new 'Primary School Class' that has recently launched, meaning our staff will visit participating primary schools with the F1 in Schools equipment to help them develop their cars and test ahead of race day!"
What is F1 in Schools ?
F1 in Schools is an international STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) competition for school children (aged 11–19), in which groups of 3–6 students have to design and manufacture a scaled car out of the official F1 Model Block using CAD/CAM design tools. The cars are powered by CO2 cartridges and are attached to a track by a nylon wire. They are timed from the moment they are launched to when they pass the finish line by a computer.
The cars have to follow extensive regulations, in a similar fashion to Formula 1. The cars are raced on a 20m long track with two lanes, to allow two cars to be raced simultaneously. Before racing cars are developed and tested, using an air trace visualisation tunnel and using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate air resistance on the "cars" made in the CAD.
The competition is currently operational in over 40 countries. The competition's aim is to introduce younger people to engineering in a more fun environment. The competition is held annually, with Regional and National Finals. The overall winners of the National Finals are invited to compete at the World Finals, which are held at a different location each year, usually held in conjunction with a Formula One Grand Prix. In the UK competition there are 4 classes of entry: Professional Class aimed at 11 to 19-year-olds, Development Class aimed at 11 to 19-year-olds in their first year, Entry Class aimed at 11 to 14-year-olds and Primary Class (new to Primary schools).
For a flavour of what our students have to look forward to you can see a VLOG that we put together from the regional event that we competed in back in January 2020 :
Where could this lead?
The possibilities are truly endless, at school level we envisage hundreds of teams across our schools and primary schools within our communities developing a real passion for design, technology and engineering through the F1 in Schools programme. We believe the popularity of Formula One and the fact that Britain has a seven time world champion in the form of Lewis Hamilton, will inspire our students to embrace the subject and aspire towards a career in engineering. There is a clear pathway presented from education to employment on the graphic below, and the fact that we have the resources and expertise to deliver ALL of the education sections means that our students will have a huge advantage!
We will be taking delivery of the F1 in Schools kit in the coming weeks and we will be sure to document and share each step of our journey with you, watch this space!