Jersey Students Race Into National STEM Finals
- markdarrenwilkinso
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
More than 70 students from across the island competed in the regional STEM Racing finals on Wednesday 10 December, with three Jersey schools now set to represent the island at next year’s UK National Finals.
Teams from Victoria College, Beaulieu Convent School and Jersey College for Girls secured the top positions and will head to the STEM Racing UK National Finals 2026, following a day of engineering challenges, high-speed racing and project presentations. The event was delivered by Digital Jersey alongside STEM Racing UK and sponsored by C5 Alliance.
Supported by Formula 1, the competition saw students design and manufacture miniature F1-style cars before racing them down a 20-metre track powered by compressed air. The teams were required to optimise aerodynamics and meet strict technical regulations, echoing the scrutiny applied to real F1 cars.
“The competition has only been in Jersey for two years”
Alongside engineering work, students presented enterprise portfolios, project management frameworks, team branding and custom-built pit displays as part of the judging criteria. Entrants competed in two divisions - Professional and Development - allowing younger teams to build skills before progressing to the more advanced class.
Regional Winners
Professional Class• Champions: Vanguard – Victoria College• Second: Ekleipsis – Beaulieu Convent School
Development Class• Champions: Aquila – Jersey College for Girls• Second: Mach 4 – Jersey College for Girls
The winning teams will travel to Sheffield in March for the National Finals at the Magna Science Adventure Centre, where they will compete for the chance to reach the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026, to be hosted at a yet-to-be-announced Formula 1 Grand Prix venue.
A 12-member judging panel assessed teams across engineering, enterprise, project management, branding and verbal presentation. The category winners received custom-made awards produced by The Engineering Centre at Calderdale College, using materials donated by STEM Racing UK sponsor CERATZIT.
Students also had the opportunity to meet two motorsport professionals with Channel Islands roots: Tom Garfield-Bennet, Engineering Coordination Team Lead at Oracle Red Bull Racing, and Pascal Dumont, Reliability Engineer at McLaren Racing. Both served as judges and offered insight into the skills needed to work in elite motorsport. A race suit and helmet belonging to World Champion Max Verstappen were also on display.
The programme, which launched in Jersey in 2024, continues to expand. Digital Jersey plans to introduce a Primary Class in 2026, opening the competition to pupils aged 9 to 11 for the first time.
Tom Milner, Project Director at STEM Racing UK, praised the quality of the students’ work.“We were incredibly impressed with the skill on show,” he said. “The competition has only been in Jersey for two years, yet the progress is remarkable. Every student should be proud, and we’re excited to see our finalists compete in March.”
Digital Jersey CEO Tony Moretta said the event demonstrated the value of hands-on STEM education.“Seeing students rise to the challenge with such energy, creativity and professionalism was inspiring,” he said. “It’s fantastic to see former Jersey students now working in F1 return to support the next generation.”
C5 Alliance CEO Matthew Corbin, whose company sponsored the event, added:“It was genuinely inspirational. The teams did brilliant work designing, producing, marketing and racing their cars — a humbling reminder of what our young people can achieve.”