F1 in Schools

F1 is short for Formula One.

F1 in Schools is a competition involving CO₂ Dragsters. For more specific information on the balsa "cars" made in this competition see CO₂ Dragster.

F1 in Schools
Date Founded:	1999
Founder:	Andrew Denford
Age Range:	11-18

F1 in Schools is an international competition for school children (aged 11–18), in which groups of 3 - 6 children have to design and manufacture a miniature "car" out of balsa wood using CAD/CAM design tools. The cars are powered by CO₂ cartridges and are attached to a track by a thin wire. They are timed from the moment they are launched to when they pass the finish line by a computer. The cars have to follow specific guidelines (e.g. the wheels of the car must be in contact the track at all times). The cars are raced on an 80-foot (24 m) long track with two lanes, to allow two cars to be raced simultaneously. Software called F1 Virtual Wind Tunnel was designed specifically for the challenge. F1 Virtual Wind Tunnel or F1 VWT uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate air resistance on the "cars" made in the CAD. Despite its name, the style of the competition makes it more similar to drag racing rather than Formula One

The competition is currently hosted in 26 countries. The competition was first introduced in the UK in 1999. The competition's aim was, and still is, to introduce younger people to engineering in a more fun environment. The competition is held annually, with regional and national finals. The winners of the national finals compete in an international final. There are two categories - D-type (or dragster type) and R-type. There also subcategories for age - D-type 11-14 and D-type 14-16 or R-type 14-16 and R-type 16-18. The main difference between the two is the R-type category allows the use of spoilers and parts added on to the main body whereas the D-type does not.

The current F1 in Schools World Champions (as of 21 September 2011) are the PentaGliders from Australia from Brooks High School (Launceston, Tasmania). Team Fuga, 2007 World Champions hold the world record time of 1.020 seconds. However, as the World Record can only be set at the International Finals, held annually, this record does not take into account individual country records.

Aspects of the Competition

To launch the cars a device is used which pierces a hole in the CO₂ canister when it receives certain input from a computer. This allows a fair race and accurate time recordings.

The reaction time tests use a series of lights to indicate when the car can be launched. The first three orange lights are displayed in sequence but at random time intervals. If the "car" is launched while the orange lights are displayed the round is recorded as a false start (see right animation). Once the green light is displayed the "car" must be launched as quickly as possible (see left animation).

Rules and Regulations

Most of the rules and regulations concern the balsa wood "cars", and the dimensions and weight they have to be. There are rules for weight, length, height from the track to the cylinder and wheel dimensions. There is also a rule on team size - at least 3 members, no more than 6.

It is recommended but not compulsory to have a backup car when racing. Before the competition begins each car is measured carefully. If the car breaks any of the rules or regulations then the team is disqualified from the competition.

All of the rules and regulations for the 2010–2011 season can be found at this link.

Racing and Judging

There are three main parts to the finals of F1 in Schools: racing, judging and a presentation given by the teams. Each team is given different times for each different event.

In the racing event each team uses their cars to directly race against another team. However, instead of being in the style of a tournament, each team gets three attempts and the best time is recorded (to a thousandth of a second). ". The team with the quickest time in their category wins the event and gets the most points. There is also a time trial event, but instead of the car being launched automatically, it is launched by a member of the team. There are three attempts at this and like the racing the best time is recorded. The time recorded is from when the timer starts to when the car crosses the finish line. The timer is started at random, but a series of warning lights prepare the team member before a light indicated that the timer has started. If the team member sets of the car too early then that go is counted as a false start and the car doesn't launch.

In the judging event judges come the teams allocated space and view a portfolio which has to be prepared by the team as part of the challenge. Teams are marked on designing, marketing and the manufacturing of the car.

The team also has to give a presentation to judges, and they are marked on this too. Each team is given 5 minutes in a regional final and 10 minutes in a national final.

The points are added up and the teams are ranked. The winners either go on to the next finals or in the case of the international finals, become the F1 in Schools champions. There are also additional awards and prizes for runners up, and these are given at the end of the competition along with the ranking: "Tanza Knights, a team from Stellenbosch High School, South Africa took the Best Sponsorship and marketing award, with Best Newcomer being presented to C2 from Woburn C.I. School in Canada and the Collaborative Team trophy was awarded to Team Hybrid, a joint initiative from Lochgelly High School, Scotland and East Cobb Middle School, USA."

Student Portfolio

Teams create portfolios containing research and designs.

Advertising

Teams are required to create a logo as well as uniforms and other merchandise to market and promote their ideas to a panel of judges.

Countries Currently Involved

F1 in Schools is an internationally recognised competition.

Australia	Austria	Bahrain	Brunei	Canada
China	Czech Republic	England	France	Germany
Hong Kong	Ireland	Korea	Kuwait	Malaysia
Nigeria	Northern Ireland	Oman	Portugal	Qatar
Saudi Arabia	Scotland	Singapore	South Africa	Spain
Thailand	United States of America	United Arab Emirates	Wales	Greece

F1 in Schools in the media

F1 in Schools has featured in UK print media and on television.

2001

F1 in Schools was reported by The Mirror (22 February) and appeared on Blue Peter in June.

A car built with CAD software for F1 in Schools by a team from Archbishop Temple School.

2002

F1 in Schools was reported by The Sun (27 November), RPM Motorsports (November) and appeared on Techno Games on BBC1 in March.

2003

F1 in Schools appeared on HTV News (11 December), BBC News Wales (11 December) and BBC 1 Newsround (10 January).

2004

F1 in Schools appeared on the BBC Politics Show (10 October), BBC Central News (3 October) and BBC Northern Ireland TV (7 January). An article on F1 in Schools was in the Education Guardian (6 January).

2005

F1 in Schools appeared in Newsround (13 January). The programme featured Mathew Hughes, from Welsh team "Atomic Jo's", explaining the F1 in Schools scheme. The interview was recorded at the UK National final in London 2005.

Partners

Many companies, educational and professional organisations have sponsored and supported the challenge.

Arkom Limited	Autosport International	Avon Vale Training	BAE Systems
Becta
Carter	CBI	City University London	Concentration Heat And Momentum Limited
Corus	Dassault Systèmes	DATA	Denford Limited
EEF	EMAP education	ETB	FG Wilson
Headstart	IMechE	Jaguar Cars	Mr C's CO2 Racing Resources
Natec	O2	Pitsco	SEMTA
SETNET	Specialist Schools and Academies Trust	TEP	The Industrial Trust
The Manufacturing Technologies Association	Royal Academy of Engineering	UGS	YINI
Make Your Mark	Silverstone Circuit

Winners

In the regional finals the winners are divided into age categories 11-14, 14-16 and 16-18 in which there are three podium places each. The winners of each category progress to the next stage of the competition; the national finals. The winner of the national finals compete in an international final. The international final has two runner-up places and the winning team become the "F1 in Schools world champions" Only the final stage of the competition are listed below, however, the full results of each season can be found on the F1 in Schools website.

2001–2002

National finals - London, England

(UK National finals only)

• 1st Place - Archbishop Temple School, England (14-16 Team).
• 2nd Place - George Abbot School, England (16-18 Team).
• 3rd Place - South Holderness School, England (14-16 Team).

2002–2003

National finals - London, England

(UK National finals only)

• 1st Place - Ramsey Abbey High School (16-18 Team).
• 2nd Place - St Joseph's College (16-18 Team).
• 3rd Place - Archbishop Temple School (14-16 Team).

2003–2004

International finals - Coventry, England

(This was the first F1 in Schools competition to have an international final.)

• 1st Place - Team Turbo, Bloomsburg Highschool, USA.
• 2nd Place - Team Flash, St Alban's College, South Africa.
• 3rd Place - Team Thunder Down Under, Collaboration between Cheltenham Girls High and Noosa District State High School, Australia.

2005 - 2006

International finals - Birmingham, England

(The season started 2004, the regional and national finals were held in 2005 and the international finals were held in 2006.)

• 1st Place - Team Stingers, Trinity Grammar School, Australia.
• 2nd Place - Team Flash, St Alban's College, South Africa.
• 3rd Place - Team Turbo, Bloomsburg Highschool, USA.

2006 - 2007

International finals - Melbourne, Australia.

• 1st Place - Team FUGA, Coleraine Academical Institution, Northern Ireland.
• 2nd Place - Team Lighting, Blairgowrie High School, Scotland.
• 3rd Place - Team Mercurial Ace, SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, Malaysia.

2007 - 2008

International Finals - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• 1st Place - Pulse - Devonport High School for Boys, Plymouth
• 2nd Place - Goshawk - Trinity Christian School, ACT, Australia
• 3rd Place - Impulse F1 - Barker College, NSW Australia

2008 - 2009

International Finals - London, England

• 1st Place - The Koni Kats - St. David’s Secondary School, Greystones, County Wicklow
• 2nd place - Redline Racing - Trinity Christian School, ACT, Australia
• 3rd place - AC Racing - (Collaboration Team), Australia and Canada

2009 - 2010

International Finals - Singapore

1st Place - Unitus Racing - USA - Southeast High School (Florida) and James Madison Middle School (Amanda Clark, Mark Nanney, Tony Griffin II, Brandon Miranda, Yatrik Solanki, Niemann Pest)

2nd Place - Zer0.9 - Australia/UAE - The Indian High School, Dubai and Pine Rivers State High School (Vivian Anthony Britto, Sidhant Shetty, Prateek Mahindra, Josh McClennan, Alysha Limmer, Gregory Mills)

3rd Place - Aixtreme Racing - Germany Einhard-Gymnasium Aachen (North Rhine-Westphalia) (Niklas Bünning, Clemens Cremer, Niklas Hönmann, Leonard Tusch)

2010 - 2011

International Finals - 19 September 2011 - 21 September 2011, Double Tree by Hilton, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1st Place - PentaGliders - Australia - Brooks High School (Launceston, Tasmania) (Jack Ball, Nathan Clark, Tristan McCarthy, Amy Winter)

2nd Place - BETAGREEN - Germany - Gymnasium Grootmoor (Hamburg) (Team: Niklas Hagenow, Fabian Bode, Arved Bruns, Johannes Rohwer)

Best Newcomer Award - Dresser Racing - Norway - Kongsberg High School (Team: Torjus Trømborg, Andreas Aasland, Herman Ingebretsen, Håkon Ystenæs and Marius Raaen)

External links

• http://www.honda.ie/contentv3/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&pageID=8124&parentID=4115 Honda's F1 in Schools Page
• http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&PO_ID=34581 ITV Article
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/sci_tech/newsid_2646000/2646357.stm Newsround article
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/teenagers/devonport_cars.shtml BBC Article
• http://web.data.org.uk/data/secondary/competitions.php List of awards, challenges, event and courses related to D&T
• http://www.schoolsnetwork.org.uk/article.aspa?PageId=219899 SST's article on F1 in Schools
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zif7Y7Cops Australian news article (on the Today Program) on F1 in Schools
• http://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/2004_march/16/2382.asp Short article reporting on the F1 in Schools challenge
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4170000/newsid_4172100/4172187.stm Short article from Newsround summarising "Atomic Jo's" F1 experience
• http://www.skillsone.com.au/Industry/3/Metals-Engineering/Video/159/0/Re-Engineering-Australia A video on how F1 in Schools is being used to promote engineering in Australia
• http://ruthtrumpold.id.au/f1inschools/ F1 in Schools - Cairo American College
• http://www.draxonic.com Chinese F1 in Schools Website (Team DraXonic)
• http://www.f1inschools.org.au/ Australian F1 In Schools Website
• http://www.f1inschools.de/ German F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.course-en-cours.com/ French F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.f1veskolach.cz/ Czech F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.f1inschools.ie/public/index.html Irish F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.f1inschools.ae/site/default.aspx United Arab Emirates F1 in Schools Website
• http://f1inschools.pitsco.com/ United States of Americas F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.f1inschools.co.za/ South African F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.team-work.ca/F1/F1Main.html Canadian F1 in Schools Website
• http://www.f1inschools.com.sg/ Singapore F1 in Schools Website

Awards
Preceded by 2008 Singapore Grand Prix	Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award 2009	Succeeded by McLaren (F-duct)