Royal Navy engineers shared their knowhow with hundreds of young people taking part in an annual project to design, build and race electric cars.

The event was run by the Greenpower Education Trust, a national charity promoting science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), for teams of students aged between 9 and 25.

Around 1,000 students, parents and staff from schools across the south west pitted their skills against each other during two days of racing at the navy’s Predannack Airfield, on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, assisted by engineers from nearby RNAS Culdrose.

For participating schools, the race was the result of months of work designing, adjusting and perfecting their car designs. In many cases, schools had been assisted by STEM ambassadors from Culdrose who had been working with the students throughout the year.

Culdrose’s engineering training officer Lieutenant Helen Dobbs said: “The standard of creativity, innovation and engineering ability from the students was very impressive, from interesting and thought-provoking designs - some using recycled materials for example to promote a ‘save our planet’ message - to coping with engineering malfunctions and adjustments that needed to be made on the day.

“There were also some very slick pit stops and driver changes that would put F1 teams to shame. The event was a great success, both promoting STEM to students in the south west, and showing the many careers that such subjects can lead to, both in civilian engineering and in the Royal Navy.”

The winners of the various races in the ages 9 to 11 category were: Slalom race: Bursely Academy from Staffordshire; Drag race: Boskenwyn School; Sprint race: Boskenwyn School. Additional prizes in this age group went to: Best presented team: Egloskerry School; Best Bodywork: Truro High School (carnival themed with reused materials); Greenest Bodywork: Mylor Bridge School (made entirely from willow picked from the local area and woven); Spirit of Greenpower Award: Devoran School (upcycled old jeans into bags for life to raise money for the project); Portfolio Award: Probus School (plenty of amazing ideas about racing and road safety).

In the older 11 to16 category, the winners were: Race 1: Richard Lander School; Race 2: The Roseland Academy; Best presented Team: Nexus One - Camborne Science and International School; Best newcomer: Nexus One- Camborne Science and International School; IET engineering award: Nexus One- Camborne Science and International School; Portfolio Award: UTC Plymouth; Spirit of Greenpower Award: Truro High School.