Merewether High School has placed sixth in the world in the F1 in Schools International Finals in Abu Dhabi overnight. Southern Cross Racing, a collaborative team formed in September this year with Barker College Sydney, included Muhammed Al-Mudafer, Daniel Bradley and Joshua Beverly, all senior school ME Program students from Merewether High School.
It competed against 37 other teams from across the globe in the largest Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competition in the world, F1 in Schools.
The week-long event, held in Abu Dhabi, was the 10th anniversary of the international finals and hosted 200 students from countries including the USA and UK. F1 champion, Daniel Ricciardo, attended the finals to lend his support to the event and the students.
F1 in Schools is an international challenge in which teams of students deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered balsa wood F1 cars. It involves over nine million students from 17,000 schools in 31 nations.
F1 in Schools is supported in the region by RDA Hunter’s ME Program which facilitates the initiative in six of its 26 partner Hunter secondary schools.
“RDA Hunter ME Program congratulate Southern Cross Racing for an outstanding achievement. To even make it to the World Finals is a very significant step in the progression of the program regionally, said ME Program Manager, Mr
Ashley Cox.
“For our students to work so well in a collaborative team and place 6th in the World is very encouraging for other students stepping into the program.
“It also demonstrates to local companies just how competent and innovative our students really are.” continued Mr Cox.
The F1 in Schools team is proudly supported and sponsored by RDA Hunter’s ME Program and many local industry partners. The ME Program links industry with its future workforce. It works to provide school students and teachers with current industry practices and knowledge while providing industry with an engaged and capable workforce.
The F1 in Schools challenge is one of a number of technology pathways supported by the ME Program which promotes the career benefits of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects. It encourages students to apply their learning in a ‘real’ situation and helps develop other skills such as project management, business marketing, presentation and communication skills that provide long term employability.
The team worked together on designing, testing and manufacturing the miniature F1 cars capable of 80km/h. F1 in Schools is a holistic action learning program which focuses on leadership, public speaking, marketing, collaboration as well as the design and construction of the cars.