Students’ electric car goes the distance at international final

A year of hard work building an electric car paid off for girls from a Devon school when they successfully raced it against hundreds of competitors – with support from us.

The Greenpower Challenge attracts 10,000 participants annually and aims to get young people enthusiastic about science and engineering by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car.

An all-female team from Ivybridge Community College took part in their race car, called Spare Parts. As well as financial backing, we provided engineering expertise to give the 14 to 16-year-old girls technical advice to maximise the performance of their one-seater car.

This culminated in Spare Parts taking to the track at an international race final held at Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex last weekend.

After an hour-long practice session, racing heats started and the 14-strong Ivybridge team came 44th out of 253 teams in the distance ranking and 19th in the kit car class.

“I enjoyed the trip so much,” said one of the students. “It was such a good experience, all of the team were great fun to be around. I’m so thankful to be given this opportunity.”

Ivybridge Community College design and technology teacher Luke Skorka-Brown, who supported the Spare Parts team, said: “Taking part in the Greenpower Challenge has massive benefits for all students involved.

“They have learnt mechanical and electronic skills so they can keep the car running on race days, but also how to work in a team dealing with ever changing high-speed situations, which in turn teaches them better communication and problem-solving skills for the real world.

“Thanks to the great support of NGED, we’ve been able to attend three international Greenpower finals in the three years we have been running the Girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) club. We are very thankful for their support.”

NGED’s Vanessa Buxton said: “It was great to see how well the Ivybridge team did and how much they enjoyed their hard work and dedication coming together on the track.

“The Greenpower Challenge is a brilliant way to engage young people in STEM which is so important as we look to recruit the engineers of the future.”