Pupils at Shrewsbury primary school build and design electric car ready for race as part of national scheme
Eight enthusiastic pupils at a Shrewsbury primary school have begun building their own electric car that they will race at a special event this summer.
Children at St Giles' CofE Primary School have teamed-up to design and build a car to race at the Curborough Sprint Track in Lichfield in June.
Their project is part of the Greenpower challenge which aims to utilise the excitement of motorsport to inspire young people to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
More than 10,000 students take part in the challenge each year - from primary school age through to university.
The Greenpower Education Trust holds more than 30 regional events as well as an international final each year.
Supported by volunteers and staff at the school, the team of eight pupils representing the Shrewsbury primary school have already worked tirelessly on the project, combining creativity, innovation, and teamwork to construct their entry for the race.
Pupils are spending time after school each week to build their car to Greenpower's regulations, and have also spent time deciding their team colours and name.
Taking inspiration from items in the classroom and animals, the team will race under the name of 'Owl and Seal'.
Natasha Guryeza helps to run the club and scheme at the school and is pleased to see the children getting hands on and learning new skills
She said: "They are really looking forward to it (the race). They need to design the bodywork now.
"There will be different categories they can compete in, they can compete as the best team, in actual racing events like drag races and timed events, and others.
"All of them will also have the chance to race in the car.
"They are learning quite a lot of skills, it has been quite interesting to see them working collaboratively. They make decisions in a democratic way.
"They have chosen their t-shirts and the colours and the team name."
Natasha added that their car is quite dated, and so some improvements are needed.
Thanks to businesses including SBC Training, Gentech and Decostitch, who are all based on the Battlefield Enterprise Park in Shrewsbury, the car will receive new batteries and wheels while children will also get some new helmets and uniform.
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