Hard work and dedication has paid off for Scarborough UTC students who have seen incredible success at F1 in Schools international STEM competition.

The competition aims to change the perception of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths by challenging students to take part in a fun and exciting project, with Formula 1 at the centre of it.

Two Scarborough UTC teams; Avidity and Orbit, did incredibly well and sailed through the regional rounds to get through to the national finals. Team Avidity came out on top, winning the Best Engineered Car and the Team Sportsmanship award – they went on to represent the UK at the world finals in Abu Dhabi.

At the end of the three-day event, it was announced that Hana Hinton, the UTC team’s graphic designer and design engineer, has been selected to join the prestigious Unilever Williams Engineering Academy.

Hana had undergone practical and written challenges set by Williams engineers before the assessment panel selected 10 successful students from the 600 potentials to join the academy.

The team was also nominated for Best Team Project Management Award and Sustainability Award, against competition from 60 international teams.

Hana’s selection was announced during the F1 in Schools World Finals gala dinner by Williams’ Group HR director Nicola Salter, and ROKiT Williams Racing Team manager Dave Redding.

The Unilever Williams Engineering Academy identifies talented young engineers and the high-profile programme gives students from around the world life-changing careers by providing advice, mentoring and guidance.

In the spectacular event on Yas Island, the UTC’s Avidity Racing raced their 1/20th scale model compressed air-powered cars along a 20 metre long track in around a second, and had to explain their design concept and project in detail.

Hana and colleagues Reanne Adnitt, Matthew Morley, Missy McCardle, Jess Bailey and Conor Wilcox were already among the UK champions, and attended the event with UTC staff Rob Shepherd, Director of Engineering, and Natalie Griffiths, Assistant Principal.

The team didn’t win the event but they “were fantastic ambassadors for Scarborough, the UTC and engineering,” said Lee Kilgour, college Principal.

He said: “They were among the UK champions at the world final, a fantastic achievement, and we are utterly proud of them.

“They have enjoyed the experience of a life-time, they spent months on the F1 in Schools project and learned a great deal about real-world engineering, design, marketing, graphics, physics, aerodynamics, manufacture, branding, sponsorship, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in practical, imaginative ways.

For more information visit https://www.scarboroughutc.co.uk