Balsall Common Primary School Children taking part in the F1 in Schools Challenge had a huge boost recently when they got to visit Solihull College & University Centre’s Woodlands Campus, Smith’s Wood, and tested their cars in a wind tunnel.
The children start off with a basic chassis and then have to design their own bodywork around it. Ian Dunnington from Jaguar Land Rover visited the school to give practical advice on aerodynamics so testing the theory is crucial.
Following a meeting at Solihull Chamber of Commerce, John Callaghan, Principle & Chief Executive of Solihull College, and Mike Nicholl, Head of School for Engineering, Motor Vehicle and Construction at the College, agreed to help the teams by allowing them access to the college’s facilities.
Mick was the school’s guide for the day and generously gave up his time to personally show them round and answer any questions, of which the children had many. The children were very excited!
It was a huge boost to all of the teams both in terms of building confidence in their team and its tasks and in understanding their F1 project.
They got to see the new Robotics area, aeronautical engineering section where they got to go onto a real aircraft and a flight simulator, had access to the college’s 3D printer where Mark Piatowski printed their own very special wheels, and got to test in the wind tunnel!
Howard Rose, Funding & Publicity Manager said, “What a fantastic opportunity this has been to inspire the children and support them with their F1 Challenge. I would like to extend my thanks to John, Mick and all their staff for allowing us to visit and to use their wonderful facilities. This has had such a positive impact on the children. One even wants to come and work at the college in the future he was so impressed!”
Mike Nicholl, Head of School for Engineering, Motor Vehicle and Construction said “It was our pleasure to host Balsall Common Primary School and help with their current F1 project. As a College we believe it is vital to inspire and invest in future generations and we hope that all of the students enjoyed their visit to the College. We want to work with Balsall Common Primary School and other local schools in the future to allow students to see the excellent facilities we have on offer here at Solihull College & University Centre.”
For more information on the courses available at Solihull College & University Centre visit the courses page or call 0121 678 7000.
