Athlone students qualify for World F1 in Schools finals in Australia next year

A team from the Marist College in Athlone maintained their school's excellent record in a international Formula 1 schools' competition by qualifying for the world finals of the event in Australia next year.

The 'Feabhas Racing' team, of Seán Healy, Rory Kane, Piotr Jasinski, Rory Kilgariff, Tommy Dillon and Joseph Martin, claimed third place in the national finals held earlier this year, as well as earning the best-engineered car award and a nomination for best pit display.

The competition challenges teams of students, aged between 9 and 19, to design, manufacture and test a miniature Formula 1 racing car to race against other teams.

Seán Healy, manager of the Marist's Feabhas Racing team, said taking part in the competition has been hugely beneficial.

"The competition's benefits are clear and immediate. First and foremost, a year spent working on an interesting and worthwhile project, a high-quality line in your CV that you can bring to any workplace, and a variety of skills that can only be gained through practise, such as team and project management, fiscal responsibility, running marketing campaigns, designing consistently high-quality graphics, creating a manufacturing pipeline and physically testing a product," he said.

The co-founder of F1 in Schools, Aaron Hannon, called on schools to enter this year's programme.

"F1 in Schools is a fantastic opportunity for second-level students to learn how to be a leader, an engineer or a businessperson in a fast-paced, exciting and competitive way," he said.

"Through participating in the challenge, the Feabhas Racing team have earned a once-in-a-lifetime trip to represent Ireland at the F1 in Schools World Finals, where they will meet like-minded students from all around the globe.

"At F1 in Schools Ireland, we’re delighted to work with new schools and new teachers to help bring these opportunities to even more students. As such, we encourage all schools to contact us or visit f1inschools.ie to learn more about entering the 2020/21 F1 in Schools season," he said.

The F1 in Schools World Finals are due to take place in Melbourne in March of next year.