In what has been described by local teachers as “an amazing achievement” two Castleisland school’s teams have qualified for the national finals of the F1 in Schools Competition to be held in Dublin Castle on May 4th.
Team JAMCAS from St. Patrick’s Secondary School and Team Flight from Presentation Secondary School will battle it out with regional qualifiers from other parts of Ireland on that May day.
Guidance of Teachers
F1 in Schools is a unique challenge that enables second-level students to get their hands on the latest from the worlds of technology, engineering and manufacturing. The student’s presentations were prepared under the guidance of their teachers, Tim Long and John Forrest.
All students benefitted hugely from the opportunity to present to an adjudication panel which included: St. Patrick’s College IT teacher and prize and panel organiser, Lea Parker Bond; Killian Young, Kerry footballer from the local Bank of Ireland and Paddy Garvey, manager of the Castleisland branch of Bank of Ireland. The winning presentation was made by Team Vtec and this included: Cathal O’Connor, Aoife Walsh, Thomas McNally, Kevin O’Connor, Niamh O’Sullivan and Alan O’Mahony.
Cork Institute
The overall contribution winner was Michelle O’Connor of Team JAMCAS. Then last week all teams went on to compete in the regional finals of Formula 1 in Schools in the Cork Institute of Technology.
Teams from Munster and South Leinster raced their cars, presented to judges and submitted their portfolios for judging. Four teams qualified from the regions to go forward to national finals and the two teams from Castleisland are among the qualifiers.
Now, further preparations, design and modifications are well underway for the national finals in Dublin Castle on May 4th.
The organisers are grateful to: Vincent Murphy Sports and Bowling Buddies for their sponsorship of trophies for the local rounds.
