A GROUP of students from Robert May's School, in Odiham, have emerged with a podium finish at the Lenovo F1 in Schools 2024 UK National competition.

Team Atomic from Robert May’s School, which secured second place at the F1 in Schools regional challenge held in Oxford, went on to achieve a place on the development class podium at the national finals.

Robert May’s students also won the verbal presentation award.

What truly set Team Atomic apart was their commitment to sustainability. They cleverly repurposed plastic bags into miniature 'Snap' playing cards, showcasing their environmental consciousness alongside their engineering prowess, while working on the F1 project.

READ MORE: From recycled plastic to podium finish: Pupils target national glory in F1 in Schools

The official education challenge of Formula 1, the F1 in Schools competition sees participants design, make, and race miniature F1 cars, with teams assessed across a variety of areas - including car speed, engineering quality, brand identity and verbal presentation skills.

This year’s event was the largest edition of the competition in its 23-year history, with 60 teams comprising 300 students all attending the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham to take part.

Supported by a number F1 teams, the event played host to an F1 car courtesy of Williams Racing, and also saw members of the team attend the event alongside representatives from Oracle Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Powertrains, McLaren Formula 1, Mercedes-AMG HPP, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, and Alpine BWT Team.

Many of those attending the event previously competed in F1 in Schools and took part in an alumni session which enabled current competitors to ask questions relating to their career path into the sport.

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LEAF1, a team of six students from Simon Langton School in Canterbury, was announced as the champions of the competition.

Tom Milner, UK Project Manager at F1 in Schools, said of the event: "This year's UK National Finals was truly spectacular. The standard on display from all the teams was outstanding, and we know that the future engineers and pioneers of both F1 and wider industries are amongst those who took part.

“We'd like to congratulate LEAF1 for their brilliant performance across the board at the competition - we're looking forward to seeing what they, and all the Team GB competitors, go on to do at the Aramco F1 in Schools 2024 World Finals.”