Year 7 Race to the Line Bio Challenge

On Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th of December all of the students in Year 7 took part in the Race to the Line Bio Challenge. This event was sponsored by Delmatic, a local Lighting Management Company, who paid for the race kit and also came along on both days, to work with the students.

The day began with an interesting talk by Stephen Woodnut (Tuesday) and Steve Hanover (Wednesday) of Delmatic, which gave students an insight into both their business and a range of career paths in STEM. Then, in groups of 4, students designed and built a sustainable model rocket car using a block of material made from a cornstarch based bio-compostable foam. In order to maximise performance and straight-line stability of the rocket cars, students were encouraged to create and add their own streamlining elements such as aerodynamic fairings and stabilising fins. Students also customised their cars with colourful and innovative designs.

In the afternoon we then raced the cars in pairs, using CO₂ propulsion. This was very exciting and the students supported their classmates enthusiastically.

At the end of each day certificates were awarded for the best engineering design and the most creative design. These were judged and presented by Stephen Woodnut and Steve Hanover from Delmatic and the students were delighted with their awards.

Once the speed of each of the cars has been calculated, we will have a race final between the fastest car from x-side and the fastest car from y-side, to find our ultimate winning team. Both of these teams will then represent the school in the London Regional Final in the summer term.