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Boy racers prove to be real champions
A TEAM of Formula One fans from a Leeds school is celebrating after winning six trophies at a national Grand Prix at Silverstone... with a remote controlled racing car.
The electric car, which hits a top speed of 45mph, was designed and built by seven pupils from Bruntcliffe High School in Morley, who travelled to the famous track to compete in the nationwide Formula Schools Race Day.
And despite tough competition from 40 other UK schools, the teenagers – James Lord, Nasir Hussain, Mitchel Clark, Kieran Rochell, Paul Aveyard, Jamie Pontefract and Luca Hirst – scooped six of the seven trophies on offer.
Year 10 pupil Kieran said: "We're ecstatic to have won so many trophies. I've never been to Silverstone on a race day but I've been to other tracks and Silverstone just seems to have a really good atmosphere.
"I've been racing remote control cars since I was eight and I've always been interested in motorsport, so I felt this was a project that could help me in the future."
Among the awards now on display at Bruntcliffe include Overall Champions, Grand Prix winner and Best Body and Aerodynamics, while the pupils also won themselves a Scaletrix and various Formula Schools merchandise.
Several members of the team are Formula Schools veterans and competed in the event last year, where they brought home awards for Best Body Work and Aerodynamics and Best Race Day Display.
Other schools in Leeds who travelled to Silverstone for the big event, which involved more than 80 schools across four different competitions, included Horsforth School, Allerton Grange and Cockburn High.
Bruntcliffe's entry was overseen by the acting head of design and technology, Andy Sidebottom, who helped the pupils work on the tiny car during their spare time and in the Easter holidays.
He said: "The competition means the pupils have developed a whole range of design skills, including graphic design and computer design.
They also had to saw out a wood mould and spend hours and hours testing.
"I'm really proud of the team. They worked on their skills from last year and they thought they had a chance of winning one or two awards. But to walk away with so many is a really big achievement."
For more information about Formula Schools, visit www.formulaschools.com.
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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