Half a term’s work building race cars out of foam blocks culminated in the Race for the Line Race Day on Thursday 14^th March.

After the weather postponed the start of our race we were ready and raring to go at 14:15. The rain had stopped, the sun had come out, but the wind was still howling. This didn’t deter us, though, we just set the track up to use the wind to our best advantage! A few technical issues meant we started later than anticipated, but this just meant that the tension had more time to build. We overcame the technical issues and were ready to go. ‘Track Live’ was shouted across the hard courts from the race engineers (Miss Stevens and Miss Martyn-Fisher), ‘Clear’ was shouted back by the race marshal (Mr Newcome) and the countdown began ‘3, 2, 1….GO!’ and the first car shot across the start line and raced to the finish.

All of the cars made it successfully to the finish line, some in a sorrier state than others with missing wheels and scraped paint work!

Well done to the winning team for gaining a place at the Regional Finals (details to follow once they have been released).

Winners: Pineapples (Tommy B, George L and Max R) speed = 18.62 m/s

2^nd place: Flymingos (Randeep G, Hattie S and Melissa W) speed = 18.38 m/s

3^rd place: Fiery Rainbows (Charlie S, Jack W, Tilly B) speed = 14.21 m/s

For more photos from the event please go to the Photo Gallery.

Well done to our team of Year 5 engineers (Joao Filipe, Jamie, Marius & James) who competed against 9 other teams from Oxfordshire to win the regional finals of the Fly To The Line competition at RAF Benson yesterday.

Calling themselves Pinewood Airlines the boys had to build a brand new glider from scratch. No templates this time, just a piece of paper, a piece of A3 foam, a pencil and a ruler! They worked well as a team to come up with a design that they thought was going to allow their glider to travel the furthest, using specific measurements and precise cutting.

The atmosphere was a mixture of excitement and nerves as we gathered in the hangar for the competition. We were told that the winner would be chosen from the best of 3 flights. The first flight was launched from the catapult at a 5 degree angle. Pinewood Airlines were up third and we stepped up to the launcher with a little trepidation. Our glider was mounted and then 3, 2, 1 GO! Our glider was launched and didn’t stop for a huge distance! It was the best launch of the day! We had some tough competition from 2 other teams and as the competition came to a close we had no idea who the winner was. As the results were checked and verified we waited nervously. Then, finally, the results were announced… 7 schools, 9 teams and only 1 winner: Pinewood Airlines! The boys were ecstatic and, rightfully, proud of their efforts!

Well done, boys, on a great day of engineering work!

For more photos from the day, please go to the Photo Gallery.