Students see success in F1 engineering competition

Students who developed their own miniature racing cars are set to compete in national finals.

More than 70 pupils from secondary schools across Jersey, as part of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, competed in the island finals on Wednesday.

The event, which is supported by Formula 1, saw students race miniature F1 cars they designed and manufactured by launching them down a 20m (66ft) track using compressed air.

Teams from Victoria College, Beaulieu Convent School and Jersey College for Girls are now set to compete in the national finals in March at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield.

The event was divided into two levels, professional and development.

In the professional class the regional champions were Vanguard from Victoria College.

Ekleipsis, from Beaulieu Convent School, came in second place.

In the development class the regional champions were Aquila from Jersey College for Girls.

In second place were Mach 4 from Jersey College for Girls.

These teams will compete against schools from across the UK in the final to qualify for the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026.

Organisers said they would be held at a Formula 1 Grand Prix location yet to be announced.

Tom Milner, project director at STEM Racing UK, said: "We were incredibly impressed with the level of skill on show at the event. The competition has only been present in Jersey for 24 months and we've seen teams progress in skill and knowledge in leaps and bounds."

There was a 12-member judging panel at the event which included Tom Garfield-Bennet, engineering co-ordination team lead at Oracle Red Bull Racing, and Pascal Dumont, reliability engineer at McLaren Racing.

Tony Moretta, CEO, at Digital Jersey, said seeing the competition come to life in Jersey for a second year was "fantastic".

"Our team worked hard to bring this global initiative to the island and support our schools every step of the way, and the students rose to the challenge brilliantly.

"Their energy, creativity and professionalism were inspiring to watch."

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