STEM students on the go!

16 January 2018

Holy Cross students are moving quickly – in competitive electric go karts!
The school is taking part in The Blair Project which is based in Wigan and is designed to inspire and engage young people to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) by building and racing electric vehicles.

Pupils at Holy Cross will work alongside further education students and graduates from Blackburn College to help design and construct the electric go-karts with four other schools in the Blackburn area.

Purdue University, home of the Indy 500 and one of America’s leading motorsport universities in driving research and development in electric and autonomous vehicles, heard about the Blair Project and officials have visited England to launch their evGrand Prix programme, for students aged 14-18.

Purdue’s Director of Motorsport Danny White spoke to STEM students at Holy Cross about the American programme, which now links with the Blair Project, and gives students hands on experience of working with electric vehicle technologies in a real world racing environment.

He said: “Electric vehicles represent the future, and we’re getting students not only prepared but excited about that future. It’s the perfect vehicle for engaging students in a wide variety of electro-mechanical technologies.”

Six go-karts will race in the first ever evGrandPrix UK which will be held at Three Sisters Racing Circuit in Wigan. The karts are capable of accelerating faster than traditional petrol powered go-karts, but will be restricted to a top speed of about 35 mph for safety purposes,

The winning team will get to compete in the world finals at the Indiana Motor Speedway in May.