On 6 August, the Confederation of Australia Motor Sport (CAMS) came to Newington College to talk to some boys about the F1 in Schools program. Newington has participated in the F1 in Schools program in the past, sending many teams to different competitions, and due to this we are not new to the program. At the start of the presentation, CAMS showed the boys a Formula Vee car and spoke to us about different aerodynamic concepts, showing us ideas that boys could use in the program.

The Formula Vee car shown to the boys at the start of the presentation was interesting. Cars like the one shown to us are used as an entry to motor sports, with Formula Vee being established in Australia in 1964. These cars are low cost and are made with a Volkswagen engine, hence the name Formula Vee. This was an interesting start to the presentation, as boys were able to get inside the car and have a look at it. The boys were very interested in the car, but this was only the start of the presentation.

After looking at the Formula Vee car, CAMS gave a presentation about F1 in Schools to us. This presentation has been run at more than 20 schools across Australia this year, and gave the boys many concepts and ideas to take in and use in the F1 in Schools program. The F1 in Schools program is the world’s largest secondary school technology program, with over 9 million students involved in the program. While many Newington teams have done well, including Velocity, Zipper Effect and Quantum, F1 in Schools is starting from scratch again at Newington with new members and a new category. The presentation from CAMS allowed the boys to be given ideas for their car as well as an overview of the entire project. It was a very valuable experience and we thank CAMS for coming to the school to talk to us.

If anyone at Newington is interested in participating in F1 in Schools, students can contact Ms Lak or come to the Technology Department on Thursday afternoons. Everyone is welcome.

Sebastian Hodge (10/ME)