My, Oh my, oh my! What an incredible National Finals day that was and for the FIRST TIME EVER we have a Primary School as our Overall National Champions!
The day started at 9 o’clock when the early risers began to arrive at the Heritage Motor Centre and by 9.30 a.m. almost everyone had managed to get through the early morning traffic. There was a slight scare when three of the teams got held up on the motorway but everyone made it in time. We had 36 teams coming from as far apart as Aberdeenshire and Cornwall lining up in the Finals and many of them had travelled the day before because of the distances involved. The excitement and air of anticipation was electric!
Brian Richardson, the Challenge National Organiser, welcomed everyone to the Centre and particularly welcomed Angela Jones from the Ministry of Education in New Zealand and Ian Brydon from the Department for Education in London. He handed over to Les Ratcliffe from Jaguar Land Rover for the official welcoming address and Les gave a very interesting talk about why Jaguar Land Rover supported the Challenge and why it was so important that companies like his supported and encouraged young people to take up careers in engineering. We all knew to keep the speeches short as there was some VERY important business to attend to – we had to get the cars set up for the big race later in the day!
Brian then outlined what was going to happen. There was to be one big race, ALL AGAINST ALL, and everyone would do the same work. There was a sharp intake of breath in the Primary Section and some smiles elsewhere. There would be prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams in each Age Range, based on where the teams had finished in the overall race. Jaguar Land Rover had also presented a ‘Leaper’ which was to be presented, with a special Certificate, to the Overall Champions – what pressure!
The teachers left us and went on a tour of 
the Museum for the morning and the 95 participants settled down to sort out some serious measuring, race planning, pit team briefing and tactics in general. After an hour everyone was asked to stand up. Brian then started to call out Practice Lap times and when your time was called out it was time to sit down again. The Royal Latin School from Buckinghamshire was in Pole Position by less than half a second! Another 20 minutes passed and a lot of brainpower was being applied to try and get some better lap times but as we drew nearer to lunch, no-one could catch them!
There were some worried faces and some confident one’s but when Brian told everyone to stop work the tension increased even more! Somewhere in the room, a computer had the winning car inside it!
After a buffet lunch, the students could visit the Museum and have a look around but 1:30 soon came and it was time to start the afternoon session. People were admitting to feeling VERY excited and some were VERY nervous. Some even admitted to feeling slightly ill! Was their car good enough? Did it have enough fuel in it? Had they done their Maths properly? In view of this, Brian told everyone that he would start the Teacher’s Race early!!
The race started and so did the noise! 45 laps around Hockenheim – no problem! Into the lead went Anne Hallows from Our Lady and St.Bede followed by a cluster of cars that included Tullynessle, St. Stephen and All Martyrs, Bay House and Dunbar. There was lots of overtaking and plenty of incidents. After a few laps the race settled down and Ruth Mitchell from Hillside Primary got herself into a comfortable lead from Gary Young (Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys) and Robert Moores (St. Stephen and All Martyrs). There was smoke coming out of most cars and some seemed to be on the wrong tyres but one way or another there was a great race taking place. Andrew Winn (Blackwood Comprehensive) and Simon Taylor (Cardiff High) were having their own private race to see who could be the best in Wales and there was a real scramble going on in the middle of the field.
Pit stops were made, tyres were changed and there was plenty of noise in the auditorium but suddenly, with just three laps to go, Gary Young roared into the lead and stayed there until the end of the race! He had won! He was the Champion and was on his feet. He could hardly believe it! Ruth was in tatters – she had led the race for twenty one laps and had been pipped at the post – but her smile soon came back. Second was not that bad after all! Robert Moores punched the air – he had come third and the relief in the room could be heard! Wendy presented the three winners with their prizes which consisted of some motor racing memorabilia that had come from the Hockenheim circuit, a certificate and some bubbly!
Runner Up
National Champion 2011
3rd Place
This was followed by a short talk from Richard Liggatt from Jaguar Land Rover. He told us about what he did as a graduate engineer and how important maths was in his work. He also told us how interesting it was and recommended it to anyone - ’just keep at your maths’ was his message.
Brian then addressed the audience and gave a review of the year. He told everyone about what had been going on and how the Challenge had grown. He thanked the sponsors for all their support and then, by surprise, presented Pat Trowbridge, an Advisory 
teacher from Buckinghamshire, with a bouquet a flowers and a commemorative track plan. The circuit that everyone had worked on in the morning had been named in her honour. Pat was retiring at 4:30 p.m. today and had chosen to spend the last day of her working life with us. Brian told everyone that he had known Pat for 30 years and that she had supported him throughout this time and how honoured he felt that she had come to the Final. There were one or two tears!
It was now time to run the race and what drama was to follow! The red lights went out – The Royal Latin Grammar School started in Pole Position but slipped back in the face of severe competition from a whole host of schools. One minute it was Tapton in the lead, then it was Tullynessle Primary. Heads were going into hands, fists were clenched – it was almost unbearable!
The teams from Sandhurst, St. Peter & St. Paul’s and Saltash were doing their best to catch up but after 10 laps it was Tullynessle out in front. At this point several teams went out of the race with a variety of problems to the obvious delight of the other racers. The noise was deafening and the adults had their fingers in their ears! Suddenly, Sandhurst Primary went to the front and stayed there for a few laps but by the time the race reached lap 20, Bankfoot Primary had established a good lead. Places were changing rapidly and cars started to leave the race with mechanical failure and fuel shortages. On lap 30 Dr. Challoner’s School went into the lead and stayed ahead for seven laps – could they do it? St. Patrick’s were in third place and were threatening to overtake Bankfoot Primary but it never happened. Bankfoot responded and on Lap 37 put in such a fantastic lap time that they went into the lead once more. It was to be the move of the race!
People were starting to wonder if a Primary School could win the 
overall race for the first time ever. Could it really happen? Well, the short answer is… IT DID HAPPEN and Bankfoot Primary School from Bradford were out of their chairs and cheering like crazy! They had done it by 8 seconds! People were hugging each other around the room and some were even having a tear of joy!
When things quietened down, Brian called out everyone who had taken part in the race and Les Ratcliff presented them with a selection of ‘keepsakes’ that included a mug, a CD Clock, a Jaguar key ring, a Jaguar cap and a maths set. Then it was the turn of the Age Range 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams to step up. They also won a whole host of prizes for their schools and they received a trophy, a Jaguar presentation pen and pencil set (1st) and a commemorative silver racing car clock (1st) for themselves.
Bankfoot Primary School came up last to tumultuous applause and cheering. Even the older students stood up and clapped them because everyone in the room appreciated that Challenge history had just been made! They all knew what Bankfoot had done!
When the presentations were over, Brian then said a big ‘Well done’ to everyone and said that it was all over for another year. There was plenty of handshaking and plenty of smiles. It had been a fantastic day and everyone seemed happy – what more could we ever wish for?
If you want to see who finished where, here are the Leaderboards of the three age Ranges.
| AGE RANGE 1 - FINALISTS | |
|---|---|
| AUTHORITY | SCHOOL |
| Bradford | Bankfoot Primary School |
| Kent | Sandhurst Primary School |
| Gloucestershire | Charlton Kings Junior School |
| Stockton-on-Tees | St. Joseph's RC Primary School (Billingham) |
| Durham | Hamsterley Primary School |
| Kirklees | Norristhorpe Junior and Infant School |
| Buckinghamshire | Great Missenden CofE Combined School |
| Bolton | St. Stephen and All Martyrs' CofE Primary School |
| Dundee | Hillside Primary School |
| Aberdeenshire | Tullynessle Primary School |
| Lincolnshire | St. Peter & St Paul's Cof E Primary School |
| Essex | Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CEP School |
| AGE RANGE 2 - FINALISTS | |
|---|---|
| AUTHORITY | SCHOOL |
| Buckinghamshire | Dr Challoner's Grammar School for Boys |
| Stockton-on-Tees | St. Patrick's Catholic College |
| Staffordshire | King Edward VI School, Lichfield |
| LB Bromley | Langley Park School for Boys |
| Cardiff | Cardiff High School |
| Birmingham | Washwood Heath Technology College |
| East Lothian | Dunbar Grammar School |
| Shropshire | The Mary Webb School & Science College |
| Wolverhampton | North East Wolverhampton Academy |
| Hampshire | Bay House School |
| Cambridgeshire | Chesterton Community College |
| Sheffield | Tapton School |
| AGE RANGE 3 - FINALISTS | |
|---|---|
| AUTHORITY | SCHOOL |
| Caerphilly | Blackwood Comprehensive School |
| Hampshire | Bay House School |
| Buckinghamshire | The Royal Latin School |
| South Ayrshire | Prestwick Academy |
| Cornwall | Saltash.net Community School |
| Kent | Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys |
| Bury | Philips High School |
| Plymouth | Coombe Dean School |
| Suffolk | Woodbridge School |
| Stockton-on-Tees | Our Lady and St Bede RC Secondary School |
| Cheshire West and Chester | The Winsford E-ACT Academy |
| Shropshire | William Brookes School |
Once again, well done to you all and maybe we’ll see you again on 21st June next year when it all happens all over again!