The latest ‘mini-bus adventure’ on 10th June was with a different competitive edge from usual.  There were no bats and balls of any shape involved, just the Purple and Brown classes and several four wheeled, sleek and expertly handcrafted cars. 

This was part two of the Techlink project run by Hayesfield Girls’ school and the University of Bath.  We had previously enjoyed a day at the school, designing and building the cars and our newly named teams and cars were now off to the University to race our cars against those from other primary schools in the Bath area.

The atmosphere was one of anticipation as we set off not knowing exactly what awaited us.  This was a new venture for Calder House, but the fourth for some other schools.  The first challenge of the day was for our three intrepid teams to negotiate their way around the University campus.  ‘Zapp’, ‘The Calder House Polygons’ and ‘Planet X’ weren’t going to be rushed and, with the care of explorers, they studied the map.  Once it was established there was no ‘X’ marks the spot but there was a chimney which corresponded to a building on the map, the route was planned and we set off again.

Although the speed of our teams in arriving at the race track was nothing to be ashamed of it was to pale into insignificance when the children saw the speed their cars achieved.  The track was 20m long.  The cars were made from card, metal axles and plastic wheels and capable of carrying 1 standard lego man (although these were often dispensed with as the drivers simply added drag!)  The cars were propelled along the track by gas.  Canisters were attached to the back and pierced at the start of each race.  The cars were completing this journey in under a second so the fastest cars were travelling at approximately 120km/hr!!

At the start our teams were given the chance to make any last minute adjustments.  This involved a great deal of discussion around gluing all gaps in the chassis and the addition of ‘spoilers’ at the back aiming to divert air in the right directions.  The teams were allowed four runs down the track and it was soon discovered that in these circumstances the spoilers did nothing to help the passage of the car and were soon removed.  Each run was eagerly anticipated and the watching was intensive, it had to be - blink and you’d miss it.  It was gratifying all round when all three Calder House cars had achieved runs of under a second.  The times were recorded quickly on the big screens so it was easy to keep check on the positions and the times to beat. 

All teams put up a valiant effort with frenzied repairs and alterations being made between runs and at one stage we held first second and third positions!  After the opening rounds we had ‘The Calder House Polygons’ going through to the quarter finals.  All rivalry forgotten Zapp and Planet X soon put all their faith in the Polygons and were rewarded by seeing them through to the semi-finals.  The excitement kept building.  Could the rookie team actually win the whole thing?  Well… the next race answered the question and … no unfortunately not, the other three cars were faster.  Still our cars lived to be carried home and displayed by their designers.  From a starting grid of approximately 30 cars reaching the quarters was good enough, but for Calder House to to be in the top four, the first year of taking part, was something the Polygons could be proud of.  So many suggestions of ways to improve the cars even further were devised on the way home that confidence must be high for future Techlink Race days.

Photos on their way... watch this space!