Team Tachyon from Denbigh High crowned Welsh champions in F1 in Schools Technology Challenge

A team of four girls from Denbigh High, Team Tachyon, have been crowned Welsh Champions in the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge. The team will represent Wales at the world finals which are taking place at the Singapore Grand Prix in September.

The team is made up of four Year 9 students Amy Martin, Holly Roberts, Jessica Briody-Hughes and Katie Rowlands. The group who are on average 5 years younger than their fellow competitors also won the FIA Woman in Motorsports award recently.

F1 in Schools is a not for profit educational organisation, which relies on support and contributions from the industry. This world class STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) competition engages with millions of students all over the world including the UK, Australia, USA, Europe and China. There were over 300 entries to the UK Regional finals, with Team Tachyon being one of only six to be invited to the final in Singapore.

Encouraged by their Design and Technology teachers Team Tachyon had to design, construct and race the fastest Formula One car of the future, powered by compressed air cylinders. The final time of Team Tachyon was 1.107, one tenth of a second off the world record time.

Mr Gareth Jones, Head of Faculty at Denbigh High says, “This team of young ladies is dynamic, focused and high ability. They are prime candidates for the current push to get more girls into STEM and Engineering subjects and careers.”

The girls have to raise £20,000 of funding and have already gained support from a number of local, national and global companies, including Dyson, Bangor University and Crabb Engineering. They have also been approached by S4C to be featured on their television show ‘Tag it!’.

Headteacher, Simeon Molloy is proud of the girls, stating: “The girls have achieved so much in this competition. The school and I couldn’t be more proud of them and their successes, and wish them all the best with their goal to travel to and compete in the World Finals in September.”

For further information about the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, please visit www.f1inschools.co.uk.