Berwick Academy gets electric racing car to get students enthusiastic about science and engineering

The car was supplied by the Greenpower Education Trust, which aims to get young people enthusiastic about science and engineering, by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car.

Students will get an opportunity to assemble the car - learning about construction methods, control systems, handling characteristics and then finally, once completed, how to drive it.

Along with developing the manual skills required for such a task, students will also be learning how to use Siemens CAD software – an industry leading operating programme for engineering and design.

Tracy Hush, headteacher, said: “We took delivery of the car just before Christmas and set up a Greenpower Car Club which is open to all year groups.

"This is now proving so popular we are hoping to secure a brand new car later this year, only this one will arrive in complete kit form.

"There is a significant skills shortage both locally and nationally in the science, technology, engineering and maths sectors, so to use the excitement of motorsport to inspire young people to excel in these areas is a great initiative that we want our school and students to be part of.”

Berwick Academy will be taking its car to race circuits throughout the UK to compete against other schools and colleges. There are currently more than 700 teams in the UK with over 35 regional events being held and more than 10,000 students taking part, from primary school right through to university.