Design students in pole position
The St Fanahan's College team of Michael O'Connor, Kieran Caplice, Phil Duffy, Colm Holmes, Michael Fitzgerald, Sean Moynihan, Kevin Casey and Brian O'Connell, who took part in the Irish Computer Society Formula 1 Schools' Technology Challenge at CIT... Credit: Photo by Mike English
Thursday March 11 2010
STUDENTS from St Fanahan's College in Mitchelstown have claimed pole position in the Munster section of a national competition to design the next generation of Formula 1 racing cars.
Fifth-year pupils from the college scooped two prestigious awards in the regional heats of the AllIreland Formula 1 Schools Challenge and will now go up against 24 other schools from around the country in the national final of the competition.
Students, working under the moniker of STF Racing, were tasked with drawing up their own design for a Formula 1 car and putting in place a sponsorship and marketing plan to fund its construction.
St Fanahan's was one of eight teams from Munster to go through to the national final, scooping awards for their website and marketing campaign along the way.
De La Salle College from Macroom also made it into the national final, which will take place in Dublin on April 29, scooping the regional prize for the best-engineered car.
Dominic O'Sullivan, engineering teacher at St Fanahan's, said it was the first time that the school had taken part in the competition.
"To win two of the regional categories was a massive achievement for us and gives us a huge boost looking forward to the national final. We were also delighted with the amount of sponsorship we received from the local business community," said Mr O'Sullivan.
"Over the coming weeks we will be making slight changes to the overall design of our car in preparation for the final. People can catch up with our progress on our dedicated website at www.stfracing.com," he added.
The winners of the national competition will go on to represent Ireland at the World finals which will take place in Singapore at the end of this year.
- BILL BROWNE
