Formidable 4×4

On Friday 27th March, BOTH Clyst Vale 4×4 teams stood on the podium at the National 4×4 Championship held at Jaguar Landrover’s Gaydon headquarters.

Our Clystalians team successfully defended their national title from last year (and added Best Track Performance to their achievements) while our Supacat team, making their debut, finished third overall.

These are amazing achievements, and congratulations to all concerned!! Thank you, too, to our students, staff, parents and sponsors for all their support.

Watch out for lots more information and photos after the spring break….

Jaguar Landrover Press Release:

Students from Clyst Vale School in Devon are celebrating after scooping one of the UK’s most coveted school STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) challenge trophies.

The team of 14-16 year olds were named Land Rover 4×4 in Schools UK Champions at Jaguar Land Rover’s Design and Engineering Centre in Gaydon today for the second year running. The ‘Clystalians’ team impressed the judges and achieved an excellent driving challenge along the track, which included obstacles as it travelled through and round a Range Rover Sport vehicle.

Young people from across the UK competed in the challenge and 25 teams, comprising more than 100 young people from as far afield as Scotland and Northern Ireland, secured a place in the final after competing in regional finals earlier this year.

In the challenge, groups of students design and build a remote controlled scale-model 4×4 all-terrain vehicle which must negotiate challenging obstacles and tests on a brand new test track. The teams present their vehicle designs and knowledge of 4×4 vehicle designs to a panel of judges and have their remote control car put under intense scrutiny by vehicle design specialists, against a comprehensive set of rules and regulations.

Zacc Tullett, Team Manager, said, “We are delighted to win the Land Rover 4×4 UK Final and are really looking forwards to taking part in the World Final in June. I think the secret of our success is great teamwork. We used a lightweight aviation grade carbon fibre and Kevlar body which helped us win the ‘Best Track Performance’ award. The Challenge has really shown us the career opportunities available in engineering and at least two of us are now interested in pursuing engineering careers.”

Teacher Dave Hewlett added, “I’m very proud the team has done so well today and delighted their hard work and commitment has paid off. The students have all worked very hard on the vehicle and it has helped them develop key employability skills as well as bringing the curriculum to life.”

Les Ratcliffe, Head of Community Relations for Jaguar Land Rover said, “The Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Challenge demonstrates the importance and relevance of STEM subjects and we hope it will encourage more youngsters to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing. The students have demonstrated a depth of understanding in vehicle design, development, research and manufacturing which goes far beyond the classroom teaching. The standard of the vehicles and level of knowledge and enthusiasm of the teams are very impressive. Congratulations to ‘Clystalians’ on winning the UK final and best of luck to them for the world finals in June.”

Andrew Denford, Chairman of Engineering in Motion, which runs the Land Rover 4×4 Challenge, commented: “Engineering in Motion is proud to manage the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge which increases the engagement of young people with STEM subjects through the practical application of design and technology, mathematics and science. It is an excellent opportunity for students to work in teams and gain an awareness and understanding of key skills and project management.”

Clystalians were delighted to win an Arkwright scholarship from Land Rover, a £1,000 scholarship for Harper Adams University and the prestigious Land Rover 4X4 in Schools Technology Challenge trophy.

The team has secured a place at the inaugural Land Rover 4×4 in Schools World Final, which will take place in Ricoh Arena, Coventry in June. They will be pitted against the best Land Rover 4×4 in Schools teams from 12 other countries including Australia, UAE and India all vying for the World Champion crown.

A total of 12 awards were presented, rewarding the hard work and high standards of work produced by the teams of students. A team of students from The King’s School in Worcester came a close second and the ‘Supacat’ team from Clyst Vale Community College came third.

The Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge was developed by Land Rover and is managed by Engineering in Motion, a not-for-profit organisation funded by generous support from lead sponsors Jaguar Land Rover and supporting sponsors and partners the Institution of Engineering and Technology, WNT, Denford Limited, LUKE, Raspberry Pi and Harper Adams University.

For further information about the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools technology challenge visit www.4x4inschools.co.uk.

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