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Baker's 'doughnation' gets students revved up

A group of budding engineers from Grangefield School in Stockton are about to realise their dream to race their own hand-built eco-car in the 2008 Greenpower Formula 24 Series.

Ten students aged 11 to 16 have designed and built their own electric powered, racing car with support from Warburtons, which has bakeries in Stockton and Newburn in Newcastle. They will now take part in the Formula 24 series, a nationwide challenge for secondary school pupils to design, build and race their own electric powered cars.

Steve Wilkinson, the team manager and technology teacher at Grangefield School said: “We started taking part in the Greenpower challenge in 2006. “Up to now the project has always been funded by the school, but with the cars that compete getting progressively better, we approached Warburtons for some assistance towards the materials and equipment costs to design a faster, lighter car.

“They have been fantastic. Warburtons didn’t just donate the funds we needed, they’ve also provided technical advice and helped the team to build the chassis using welding equipment at their truck depot. The team is delighted with the car and it’s great for them to forge links with a local business.”

The Greenpower project is designed to boost the number of young people pursuing engineering and technology based careers in the UK. Over 200 teams put their designs to the test and compete in a number of marathon and sprint events throughout the country, using well-known motor racing circuits.

Paul Henderson, Warburtons Fleet manager for the North East, said: “As a local employer, Warburtons is keen to support initiatives that benefit the communities in which we operate. “It’s been a delight working with the students from Grangefield. They are a credit to their school and I can’t wait to hear how they get on in their first race in the series.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .