Plymouth school outraces 30 teams at famous Top Gear track
The team proved unstoppable!
A team of Plymouth students hit Top Gear to record a double-podium finish in a green racing event held on an aerodrome track previously used by the hit TV series.
The team of engineers and racers from All Saints Academy Plymouth took home the overall first and second-placed trophies in the Formula 24 category at the GreenPower racing event at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, out-racing more than 30 schools in the process.
Made up of pupils from Year 7 to Year 10, the 12-strong team left Plymouth at 3am to take part in the event, taking their two battery-powered vehicles.
The raceday followed months of engineering work on their two vehicles, which were named ASAP Vanguard and ASAP Interceptor.
The event itself consists of two 90-minute endurance races in which teams must travel as far as possible using only two 12-volt batteries.
Drivers, engineers and pit crews must work together to maximise efficiency, with success depending on aerodynamics, vehicle weight, energy management, motor cooling and race strategy.
Students tackled technical challenges including reducing vehicle width to improve aerodynamics, redesigning braking and steering systems, testing different gear ratios and improving motor cooling systems.
The team had an early indication of its potential during qualifying when Year 10 student Logan, driving ASAP Vanguard, recorded the fastest lap of the day, three seconds quicker than any other competitor.
In the first race, drivers worked their way through the field while navigating the famous corners of the former Top Gear test track, with the pit crew managing driver changes and race strategy.
Their efforts resulted in a one-two finish, ahead of more than 30 Formula 24 cars and over ten scratch-built entries.
Henry, a Year 8 student driver, said: “We’d worked on these cars for months, so seeing them finish first and second was amazing. I don’t think any of us expected it.”
The second race saw students who had previously served as pit crew members take to the track themselves.
Overtaking manoeuvres around the Hammerhead and Chicago corners helped the cars secure first and fifth place in the kit car category.
Combined with the earlier results, All Saints Academy took home the event’s overall first and second place trophies.
The success marks another milestone in the Academy’s six-year GreenPower journey, with students building on the work of previous teams and local employers supporting the programme.
The school works closely with Babcock International and benefits from support from Plymouth CityBus and Murray Group, providing students with real-world engineering opportunities.
The team has now been invited to compete at the GreenPower International Finals at Goodwood Circuit this October, where they will race against the top 20% of teams in the country.
It will mark All Saints Academy’s third consecutive appearance at the finals.
Looking ahead, students have also begun planning the design and construction of the Academy’s first scratch-built GreenPower car in partnership with Babcock International. The project is expected to be ready for the 2028 racing season.
The Academy’s GreenPower team has also won the Ford Engineering Award four times across the last two seasons.
Pete Keegan, Director of Technology and GreenPower Team Lead at All Saints Academy, said: “I am incredibly proud of our students and everything they have achieved.
“Watching them develop their engineering knowledge, confidence and teamwork skills is truly inspiring. You can almost see the beginnings of future engineering careers taking shape before your eyes, and that is what makes working in education the best job in the world. These students have earned every bit of this success through hard work, determination and an unwavering commitment to improve.”
Article by Andy Phillips (The Herald Print Editor)