Smithdon Students Design and Race Cars in High-Speed STEM Day

Students in Hunstanton were raring to go when they designed their own racing cars as part of a special Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Workshop.

​All 115 Year 7 students at Smithdon High School took part in the ‘Race to the Line’ event, which was sponsored by Stannah Stairlifts in conjunction with the Learning Partnership.

The young engineers were also fortunate to have Tony Steel, a STEM Ambassador from Rolls Royce, on hand to discuss ideas and offer design advice.

“Students designed their cars, drilling holes for wheels, designing the wheels, and making them as aerodynamic as possible,” said Smithdon’s Head of Science, Claire Pike, who organised the event with the help of Design Technology Teacher Alix Birks, and Maths Teacher Sam Plant.

“Students also did some challenging maths in a session looking at speed, distance, and time.”

Once the designs had been built, their creators had the opportunity to test the cars in the school sports hall.

“In the afternoon session, all the students eagerly awaited the launch of the cars using carbon-dioxide gas,” continued Mrs Pike. “They certainly flew down the track, with the timing gates run by a micro-bit computer doing the timing.”

It was the first time that Smithdon, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, had held the event.
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“It was really fun to be smart and creative to create a car,” said student Tyler. “Athough our car didn’t do good in the race, the process of making it was the best. It also made me understand the importance of teamwork."

“Race to the Line was very good and fun, because you built your own cars then raced them to see who was fastest,” said classmate Air. “I really liked the mechanical side of it, with the aerodynamics and how to make your car go fast. It was really good seeing everyone’s different designs and ideas as they flew down the centre of the sports hall.”

Fellow participant Harry agreed: “I really liked it, as we got to have our own design and shape of the cars, and it was really engaging at the end when they all raced.”

“This type of event is hugely important to show students how STEM subjects all come together to support each other,” added Mrs Pike.

“It was an amazing day, and the students were fantastic even with the hot weather.”