Girls team up for school F1 challenge

19/09/2012. Muniek Swart (left) and Nicole Esterhuizen show off a previous trophy won in the Formula 1 Schools Technology Challenge in 2010. This year their team, Team Accelero, hope to win a trophy of their own in Abu Dhabi for this year's competition. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi

19/09/2012. Muniek Swart (left) and Nicole Esterhuizen show off a previous trophy won in the Formula 1 Schools Technology Challenge in 2010. This year their team, Team Accelero, hope to win a trophy of their own in Abu Dhabi for this year's competition. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi

Published Sep 26, 2012

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Girl power is being taken to the next level at the Pretoria High School for Girls with two pupils designing and building Formula 1 model cars.

The school, in collaboration with Maritzburg College and Eden Glen High School in Johannesburg, entered the Formula 1 Schools Technology Challenge.

This international competition requires teams to design, build and race compact gas cylinder-powered model racing cars.

Two Grade 11 girls from Girls High joined forces with pupils from the other schools to form Team Accelero. The team came first nationally and is one of two SA teams invited to compete against 33 teams from 30 countries in Abu Dhabi from October 26.

Muniek Swart, 17, is the design engineer and Nicole Esterhuizen, 17, the graphic designer on the team of six, of which three are girls.

Swart conducted the research and designed the vehicle's body.

Esterhuizen dealt with the model car's aesthetics and the design of the accompanying research project. Other team members were responsible for accounting, manufacturing, resources and managing the team. It is the second time that Girls High has advanced to international level, but this is the first collaborative effort.

Esterhuizen said: “We used mostly social media to communicate and complete the model, because our schools are so far apart.”

In 2010, the all-girls Team Celeritas walked away with the trophy for “perseverance in the face of adversity”.

Swart said: “We have been working since February this year and it has been a lot of work. It is my first time doing something like this and I am very excited.”

The designs are coded by a specialised machine that builds the model according to specifications. The model weighs only 55g and is made of balsa wood. It is painted, branded, glossed and scrutineered (ensuring the model meets all design requirements). All teams receive the same standard block of wood to work with and there are many design rules to adhere to.

The car is powered by a small gas cylinder filled with carbon dioxide.

The car is placed on a straight 20m track, the cylinder is punctured and the gas is released. The release of the gas thrusts the vehicle forward on the track. It stops when it hits a cushion at the end.

The cars are not judged on speed alone. Aesthetics, research, compliance with competition rules and verbal presentation of the final product are considered before the winner is decided. Each team is required to design their pit, too.

Swart said the competition showed women and cars could go together. “There is no reason why we cannot do as well as boys in this competition, we definitely do stand a chance.”

Girls High technology teacher Lynelle van Heerden and public relations officer Joan Manders will accompany the team.

Manders said: “We have to always remember that Formula 1 is not as big in South Africa as in European countries, and the team has no expert advice or support to fall back on. We are really hoping they do well.”

First prize is an engineering scholarship in the UK for each member of the winning team.

Esterhuizen said: “Career-wise I don't know what I want to do yet, but trying this will give me a feel of engineering to see if I want to pursue it.”

The school wants to send a team to the competition each year.

Van Heerden said: “We already have a team of Grade 9 pupils lined up for next year. We want to groom them in science and technology from an early age.”

Team Accelero will be back in SA on November 5. - Pretoria News

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