Stannah donation gives Harrow Way STEM Club the green light

Harrow Way Community School STEM Club are Green Power Challenge ready thanks to the generosity of the Joseph Stannah Foundation.  As the new school year starts students took delivery of a brand new Goblin electric kit car which they will assemble before designing, building and fitting its exterior.

A small team of STEM ambassadors from Stannah will support the students through the design and build process, helping them create a project plan and providing practical advice over the year.

Once built and race ready, students will have to learn how to drive the go kart and race it over three different Green Power Challenge venues. Over 700 teams enter the Challenge each year with 35 regional events allowing 10,000 students to take part.

Commenting on the opportunity the students have to look forward to, Donna Robertson, Curriculum Leader ICT and Computing said: “Our thanks to the Joseph Stannah Foundation for their continued support and incredible generosity. Students are so excited about the opportunities the go kart will bring for them as they will get to put their skills in to a real life team project. Students will be needed for the build team, aerodynamic team, reporting team, design team as well as a few drivers and mechanics for race days. It’s going to be great fun to take part in the Green Power Challenge and while they pit their STEM wits against thousands of other students nationally, they will be learning many valuable STEM lessons that support the curriculum and will give these students vital practical skills too.”

Underpinned by a substantial donation from the Stannah family, the Joseph Stannah Foundation supports projects that promote engineering and related sciences as a career. Commenting on their support for STEM projects and Harrow Way Alastair Stannah said: “The Greenpower Challenge really helps bring STEM subjects alive for students and is a perfect fit with our aim to inspire the next generation of engineers through our Joseph Stannah Foundation. Our Stannah STEM ambassadors are looking forward to supporting the Harrow Way students as they undertake their first Greenpower Challenge and I wish them the very best of luck!”

Greenpower Education Trust is a UK based charity which gets young people enthusiastic about science and engineering by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car. The Trust supplies age appropriate kit cars, which can be built in school, college or elsewhere and raced at motorsport venues at Greenpower organised events. The Challenge is adapted to suit three age appropriate categories: 9 to 11, 11 to 16 and 16 to 25. It is the only STEM enrichment provider to run the same basic concept across such a wide age group, allowing for excellent progression throughout.

For more information about Harrow Way, please go to www.harrowway.hants.sch.uk. For more on the Joseph Stannah Foundation please go to https://corporate.stannah.com/about-us/joseph-stannah-fundation/ and for the Green Power Challenge please go to https://www.greenpower.co.uk/.

Pernille Thomsen 22-09-2022