Have a brake, have a kit car…
PUPILS from across the borough raced against each other during an electric kit car challenge at the Tameside Cycle Circuit.
Promoted by the science and engineering charity Greenpower, the teenagers from seven local secondary schools built and tested battery-powered cars at Tameside College before taking them out to race on June 19.
Track day categories included furthest distance travelled, safest driving, and best teamwork.
Jackie Moores, principal and CEO at Tameside College, said it’s also about encouraging youngsters to become involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects: “This has been our biggest year yet with Hyde High School’s first year on the project.
“The winner isn’t about speed, it’s about strategy.
“All the cars move at the same speed, so you can’t really overtake, but if you crash out or need to change your battery early because you’ve put too much pressure on the car, then that will take you back in the pack.
“This year we’ve widened the support that comes from the staff teams – historically, we’ve always used the automotive teams because it’s a mechanical STEM challenge, but we’ve also had support from the construction and engineering teams as well.
“It’s very much a mixture of those skills that they’ll develop, and hopefully it will inspire them to think about [one of those] as a career path.”
Those thoughts were echoed by Peter Knapper, one of Tameside College’s body repair lecturers.
“We’ve been doing this Greenpower Challenge for about ten years,” he said.
“It started with just two or three cars when we went over to Aintree, but it’s now closer to home, which saves a lot of travelling time and gets a lot more local schools involved.”
The expansion comes after a £7million refurbishment of the motor vehicle facilities at the college’s Beaufort Road site.
“We do automotive and body repair, paint refinishing, and a lot of apprenticeship work.
“But this challenge helps the students transition from school to college.”
As well as Hyde High School – who took the overall top prize – participants included pupils from Audenshaw School, Droylsden Academy, Fairfield High School, Mossley High School, St Thomas Moor RC College and West Hill High School.