Year 7 students were treated to a seriously exciting day when McLaren came to school to run hands-on workshops all about design, teamwork and racing. Working in groups, students were challenged to design and build their own mini cars, ready to compete in a race against their classmates. The twist? The cars were powered by elastic bands, so careful thinking and clever engineering were essential!

Each team was given a budget of virtual money which they had to spend wisely. They could use it to buy extra materials for their car or pay for expert advice along the way, just like real engineers in the motorsport world. This added an extra layer of strategy and problem-solving and kept everyone fully engaged from start to finish.

When race time arrived, things got loud! The Sports Hall was filled with cheers, laughter and plenty of competitive spirit as cars zoomed (and sometimes wobbled) down the track. Despite the noise, there was lots of success, creativity and teamwork on display, with many impressive designs making it to the finish line.

To top it all off, McLaren didn’t arrive empty-handed – they brought along a real McLaren supercar! Students were amazed to see it up close. This was a fantastic memorable day that combined learning with excitement and gave Year 7 a taste of engineering and innovation at its best.