Pupils at a North East school have put their engineering skills to the test by successfully designing, building and racing their own go-kart.
Students from Durham Academy in Ushaw Moor took part in the STEM on Track programme, a national initiative that encourages young people across the UK and Ireland to develop practical engineering, design and teamwork skills through the challenge of creating and racing their own karts.
During the school’s Friday afternoon enrichment sessions, the students, from Years 7 to 9, spent months learning about engineering, physics, design, and more before putting applying their knowledge to building the kart, and testing it alongside other school teams at Whilton Mill Karting & Outdoor Activities, in Northamptonshire.
Alfie, one of the drivers and engineers, said:
“Everything went really well. A lot of other karts broke down or fell apart, so I’m just really proud that ours worked, and we finished the course.
“It felt really good to be able to say ‘we built that’, that it works, and it shows we’re better than a lot of other schools in the country.”
Despite it being the Advance Learning Partnership school’s first time taking part, officials praised the Durham Academy kart’s “elite performance” and reported that it completed testing without any defects, clearing the team to race against 99 other schools in June.
Students also applied what they’re learning in other subjects, such as English and Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education, to the project. Hollie, in Year 8, even won a Classroom Hero award from the STEM on Track programme for her work in generating sponsorship.
She and her friends wrote and pitched to local businesses for funding to cover the project’s high price tag, receiving support from Virgin Money, Wilmott Dixon, Alpine, and Durham County Council.
Further sponsorship was provided by Engineering Education and STEM Learning.
The project was led by Dr Mandeep Atwal, STEM Lead and Head of Year 10, who said: “Taking learning out of the classroom and onto the open road is the ultimate test of our ambitious students’ hard work.
“They’ve poured countless hours during enrichment sessions into designing and building their go kart, and this month they see their hard work pay off.”
She also praised the wider Durham Academy team for supporting the project, including Louise Meale from the site team and John Coates, Wilmott Dixon Site Manager, whose support while building new premises for the school helped make the project possible.
