BMS Team Qualify for F1 in Schools National Finals 21 April 2023

On Wednesday 22 March, four Bedford Modern School students placed second in the East Midlands Regional Final of the F1 in Schools UK Challenge, held at Boston College UK.

F1 in Schools UK is a challenge which requires teams of students aged between nine and 19 to use Computer-Aided Design and Manufacture (CAD/CAM) software to design, produce, test and race miniature cars. The challenge comprises a Primary Competition for students aged 9-11, as well as a Secondary Competition which includes three classes: Entry, Development and Professional.

The BMS team, Red Eagle Racing, is composed of Year 10 students Louis Bordas, Oliver Higgins, Edward Jackson and Oliver Wilson. They competed in the Development class, having already raced in the Entry class last year.

In preparation for the competition, the students were responsible not only for the development and manufacture of their car, but for raising money to fund their research and marketing. Red Eagle Racing found a £450 sponsorship opportunity with Aero Tec Laboratories Ltd, a Milton Keynes-based company.

On the day, scoring was based on several different components: the manufacture of the car according to competition specifications, the evolution of the design process, and the strength of the team’s brand identity and communication skills. Alongside racing their car on a custom-made, 25-metre track against another school, the four students were required to submit a design portfolio and an enterprise portfolio, as well as deliver a verbal presentation on what they have learned from the process and how it may have inspired their future career choices.

Red Eagle Racing were awarded ‘Best Design Portfolio’ across all three classes, and ‘Best Engineered Car’ in the Development Class. They will now go on to compete at the National Finals in June, where they can build on the valuable feedback they received from judges to ensure that their design and presentation is of an extremely high standard.

Mr Jones, Head of Design Technology at BMS, added: “I am so pleased to see the hard work and dedication that the students have put into this challenge. Many of their competitors were Sixth Form students, so it is especially impressive that they succeeded in getting through to the National Finals. They will be fully supported in this next step of their journey by our Design Technology department – we are extremely proud of them.”