STUDENTS from Emmanuel Colege showed real driving ambition to take part in a hard-fought motor race at one of the homes of British motorsport.

Teenagers from Emmanuel College, in Gateshead, developed their own home-made racing car from scratch to take part in the final of the prestigious National Greenpower Challenge held at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit.

The contest brought together students from across the country to design and build electric cars before taking them to the track for a series of races.

The initiative aims to get more youngsters thinking about careers in industries presently facing skills shortages, such as engineering and technology.

The team from Emmanuel College, which has a specialism in technology, was left celebrating after the competition's grand final.

Despite starting on the back row of a 75-car grid, the vehicle that was put together with an array of scrap parts powered through the four-hour endurance race to finish a highly respectable 32nd.

It represented an impressive debut for the team, which was made up of Year 12 BTEC students, together with others from Years 9 and 10.

Their ‘Blucher' vehicle completed 35 laps of the circuit, covering a total of 84 miles in a final which organisers said had set easily the highest standards they had seen in a decade.

Prior to tackling the Goodwood track, the Emmanuel vehicle had competed successfully at the famous Croft Circuit, near Darlington, and at Aintree, near Liverpool.

College Principal Jonathan Winch said: "The entire Greenpower Challenge experience has been tremendous for our students. They have learned some important values, such as the strength of good teamwork and communication, and they put in a final performance to be extremely proud of at Goodwood.

"My congratulations go to everyone from College who has been involved in this exciting and rewarding project.  This has been our debut year in motor racing and we have learnt skills which will stand us in good stead for the future."

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