Jordan and Keegen invite F1 in Schools sponsors to see them in action

Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor students Jordan Pyper and Keegen Vidamour invited their F1 in Schools sponsors Faun Trackway Limited to see them compete in Skills Competition Wales.

Jordan and Keegen, along with their peers Mared Williams, Francis Millward and Cedri Pritchard, make up Cymru Speedsters, who competed in the North Wales F1 in Schools competition in Denbigh on February 19.

The annual competition is embedded as part of the BTEC Level 3 General Engineering course at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor’s Pwllheli Hafan campus.

Earlier this month, Jordan and Keegen competed in the additive manufacturing (3D printing) discipline at Skills Competition Wales, held at the Engineering Centre at Coleg Menai’s Llangefni campus.

Against competitors from Coleg Menai and Coleg Sir Gar, they took part in a series of tasks designed to test their organisation, time management, design under pressure and innovation skills. The competition was designed and led by Bryn Jones, engineering lecturer at Coleg Menai, WorldSkills UK training manager for additive manufacturing, and Skills Competition Wales lead for the discipline.

They are now waiting to find out how they got on, with the winners set to be announced at a ceremony in Swansea on March 13.

Keegen said afterwards: “I entered the competition with Jordan not knowing exactly what I was letting myself in for. However, I surprised myself with what I was able to achieve during the competition.”

Jordan said: “There were a few areas of the design and fitting task which did not go to plan, but this experience has given me confidence to improve my skills further. Because this was my first year of competing, it has given me the confidence to come back next year as I will have grown my skills to overcome the challenges I found in the competition.”

With Cymru Speedsters set to pit their F1 in Schools race cars against teams from across North Wales this week, Keegen and Jordan took the opportunity to invite their sponsors to watch them in the skills competition.

Gareth Williams, Engineering & Operations Manager, Rachel Roberts, Head of Marketing, and Ellie Roberts, Marketing Coordinator at Faun Trackway Limited based in Llangefni, were given a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities at Coleg Menai. They saw first-hand the variety of competitions taking place in the fields of computer-aided engineering, additive manufacturing, electronics and robotics.

Rachel Roberts said: “It was enthralling to witness the learners taking part in Skills Competition Wales. As an engineering company, we are delighted to be able to support Cymru Speedsters as part of Formula 1 in Schools. Jordan and Keegen presented their portfolio entry, and we have no doubt they will do exceptionally well in the competition.”

Keegen, who is project manager for Cymru Speedsters said: “It was great to be able to meet our main sponsors face to face. Up to now our communication was limited to emails, so it was the perfect opportunity for myself and Jordan to convey our passion and determination to take our race car successfully across the winning line at this year's North Wales regional competition.”

Emlyn Evans, engineering lecturer at the Pwllheli Hafan campus, said: “The F1 in Schools competition is organised by the Engineering Education Scheme Wales (EESW) every year.

“The format requires our students to set up an F1 in schools team of up to six members. They must decide on a team name and branding, and are allocated six different roles of project manager, design engineer, finance manager, graphics designer, manufacturing engineer, and sponsorship and marketing.

“The teams find sponsors to help fund their participation in the competition. The holistic approach gives our learners an insight to how a company and its team members work together towards a common goal. They use the computer-aided design skills and 3D printing skills as the foundation knowledge to try and design the fastest race car for the event.

“The experience our students have from being part of this STEM activity is one of the highlights they will remember from studying engineering with us at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor.

“It's great to see them developing as individuals and as a team, as they overcome the design challenges and pressure to get the race cars on track in time for the event.”

He added: “We are extremely grateful for the support that Faun Trackway Limited have given our learners. With the support of Faun Trackway Limited, we are able to make sure that our learners can be competitive in this prestigious and rewarding STEM competition.”

Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor have three teams taking part in this year’s competition, as well as supporting two local school teams from Ysgol Glan Y Mor and Ysgol Botwnnog.

Emlyn added: “We wish all teams the best of luck in the competition.”

For information about Engineering courses at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor’s Hafan campus, contact Emlyn Evans via email evans12e@gllm.ac.uk or go to https://www.gllm.ac.uk/locations/pwllheli-hafan

Want to learn more about the exciting world of engineering with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai? Find out more about our courses here.