Shropshire primary school heading to national STEM finals for fifth year in a row
Pupils from a North Shropshire primary school are celebrating after securing their place at the STEM Racing National Finals for the fifth year in a row.
Four teams from across the Addmore Federation, made up of Moreton Say Primary School and Adderley Primary School, attended the STEM Racing 2026 Regional Finals on February 23 at Harper Adams University, achieving outstanding results across multiple categories.
The teams were extremely proud to be awarded first place in the following categories - Verbal Presentation, Pit Display and Design and Engineering Research.
Team Rocket Riders was crowned Regional Champions overall and Team Turtle Troop was awarded second place, automatically securing their place at the National Finals in March.
A special invitation has also been awarded to fourth place Golden Hawthorns, who will join them at the competition next month where they will compete against more than 100 teams!
The Slithering Six finished a very respectable 10th place out of 15 teams from across the county.
In the lead-up to the competition, pupils researched, designed and built their own model Formula 1 car using CAD software. They documented their progress in a detailed portfolio, secured sponsorship from local businesses, developed team branding including logos and uniforms, and prepared a five-minute presentation.
Throughout the day the teams had to build a pit display, present in front of various panels of judges, discuss the design and engineering processes and the most exciting part, race their model F1 car down a 20m track, powered by compressed co2 cartridges.
A huge thanks to all of the amazing sponsors this year - Ready to Go Hire, Dominos, Euro Motaparts, P and D Dairies, CWMS, 02 Agri, Sandstone Vet Group, Acutest, Cope Farming, B3 Shopfitting, MJ Yeomans and Sons, Roger Taylor Auto Services, Drayton Cars and CEDO.
Teacher Miss Sian Jones, who has run the after school F1 club for the past five years, said: “The STEM Racing competition is a fantastic experience for all involved and it has been great to see the pupils’ confidence build as well as seeing them come together in their teams to design, build and race their car and present in front of various panels of judges.
“This competition is an excellent way to develop STEM skills, and all of the children have had an incredible experience. They are already looking forward to the National Final on March 24.”
To find out more about the project, visit the team’s website at jonessian6.wixsite.com/addmore-stem-racing.
