National car design contest success for young Kenilworth engineers

The Firecrackers, Amelia Hunt, Jasper Nicholls, Woody Osborn, Henry Verity and Thomas Zanyi, took the crown at the finals of the Jaguar Primary School Challenge at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, beating off 38 other primary school entrants.

The five had been working hard, after school, all year to prepare for the day and the challenge which required teams to research, design, manufacture, test, promote and race the fastest car possible.

They had to use standard chassis and engine housing nets with a car body made only from card. It is a technical brief but one that has proven to really engage potential future engineers.

Each team took part in an engineering judging where the team were examined on their car design and manufacturing process as well as a verbal presentation and a portfolio and pit-stop display inspection where the team had to carefully explain their displays to the judges.

During the day, the Firecrackers also had to complete an additional design technology challenge, to design and manufacture a car of the future. The focus was once again to test the team’s ability to work together, delegate, design and manufacture.

Finally, they had to race their car head-to-head down the racetrack. Standards were high but the children were confident, and when the results were announced, they were delighted - they’d won the award for Best Engineered Car.

A spokesman said: “What an amazing day. Our pupils have worked so hard. They’ve dealt with the pressure of competition brilliantly and we are so very proud of them.”