A team of young engineering enthusiasts from The King’s School in Chester has received a £1,000 donation from Cheshire-based glass manufacturer and bottler, Encirc, to compete in the World Finals of the F1 in Schools Challenge – the largest STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) competition in the world.
Team Sixth Degree, made up of six King’s School students, aged 16-18, were tasked with creating a carbon dioxide-powered F1 car from model board which is 1/20 scale model of an actual F1 car. After beating more than 250 competitors in the event, Team Sixth Degree will now be representing England in the upcoming World Finals in Texas.
To support the team in their bid to develop a competitive project for the Finals, local manufacturing experts, Encirc has donated £1,000. Declan Ryan, Engineering Manager, Encirc commented: “Getting more young people interested in STEM subjects is vitally important if we are to secure the future of the manufacturing and engineering sectors. Currently, more than half of businesses seeking STEM workers expect to find difficulty filling their vacancies.
“By supporting The Sixth Degree Team, we hope to inspire the next generation of manufacturers, engineers and scientists to take up STEM subjects. It’s fantastic to see such talented young people in Cheshire and we wish the team the best of luck in the World Finals.”
Richard Curtis, Head of Design and Technology at The King's School added: “Things are looking very promising for The Sixth Degree after they competed at the Silverstone track in April and had great success in the National Finals. This funding will go a long way supporting the team in the final stage of the global challenge.”