A TEAM of bright sparks from an Odiham school have shot to victory at the UK final of F1 in Schools.

Britannia Red, made up of pupils from Robert May’s School, took victory at the F1 in Schools UK Finals, held over March 11 and 12.

They designed, analysed, made, tested and raced a scale model of a Formula 1 race car.

The team of Abi Bessant, 14; Tilly Wake, 13; Harriet Quarmby, 13; Caoimhe Thomas, 14; Callum Green, 14; and Ted Hodgson, 15, won the Best Engineered Car Award as well as taking the National Champions title, while supported by Amelia Dorward, Zach Taylor and Harriet Ingleton.

Abi said: “We really didn’t expect to win today, we didn’t think we’d get anywhere, so it was totally unexpected, especially as it was the first year for us.

“There’s lots of judging sessions and so there’s lots of pressure, but we were surprisingly calm.

“It’s a mix of fun and hard work doing the challenge, you have to dedicate a lot of time to it, but it’s great fun.”

“It opens our eyes to the scope of Engineering too, especially coming to a place like Airbus, which has been a great experience.”

The group won a trip to the headquarters of an F1 team, grandstand tickets to Silverstone and paddock access at the British Grand Prix, two £5,000 bursary scholarships from UCL engineering, and equipment to the value of £5,000 for Robert May’s School.

The team will be joined by the second and third place finishers to represent the UK at the World Finals.