Students present sponsor with F1 in Schools race car

Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor students presented local firm Automax Sport with their F1 in Schools race car as a thank you for sponsoring their team.

Math Hughes, Guto Roberts and Sion Roberts are studying Level 3 Enhanced Engineering at the Dolgellau campus.

They competed as ‘Meirionnydd Masterclass’ in the recent F1 in Schools competition, having teamed up back in September to begin work on their car.

Math took on the role of project manager, Sion was design engineer and Guto was manufacturing engineer.

Along with other teams from the college, they designed their cars using computer-aided design package Fusion 360, before manufacturing the vehicles on a CNC Denford milling machine.

They then raced the cars in the North Wales heats at Denbigh Leisure Centre, competing against teams from high schools across North Wales.

Meirionnydd Masterclass were successful in gaining sponsorship from Sion Ellis of Automax Motorsport, a motorsport supplies company based in Dolgellau.

As a token of appreciation for his support in agreeing to be their sole sponsor, Math, Guto and Sion visited Sion at Automax to present him with a copy of their race car.

Engineering Lecturer Emlyn Evans said: “As a college we are proud of our students' achievements and participation in competitive events which demonstrate their engineering skills to the highest of standards.

“We would like to thank Mr Ellis for his contribution and sponsorship of the team allowing them to participate in the F1 in Schools North Wales competition on the 1st February 2024.”

‘Team Come and Go’, comprising engineering students from Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Pwllheli Hafan campus, secured second place overall at the North Wales heats, and a place at this week’s F1 in Schools UK final in Rotherham.

The team set up a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising £1,500 to compete in the event on March 13 and 14.

To donate to Team Come and Go, visit the GoFundMe page here.

The F1 in Schools competition is an integral part of the Enhanced Engineering course, with first-year students competing as part of the Unit 2 module, Delivery of an Engineering Project Safely as a Team.

Emlyn Evans said: “This is a challenging and engaging project our learners experience whilst studying on the course.

“We can see the growth in the individuals as they work together to design and race the car at the competition. Their communication skills, portfolio presentations, financial awareness and enterprise skills are all tested to the full.”

The Level 3 BTEC Enhanced Engineering course at Pwllheli and Dolgellau is now open for applications using this link.

For any questions about the course, contact Emlyn Evans via email evans12e@gllm.ac.uk