Formula 1 driving students back to maths

​​​A sport taking 1.2s from start to finish is enticing Bowen State High School (Bowen SHS) students to study maths and science.

In 2021, Bowen SHS added science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) racing as a subject in their high achievers Bowen SHS academy program.

STEM racing takes students through the process of building Formula 1 (F1) model cars that are raced competitively—against other teams at school and later in regional, state, national and in some cases international competitions.

According to Bowen SHS Principal Robert Harris, STEM racing offers its Year 8, 9 and 10 students a lot more than improved maths and science results.

'STEM racing allows students to engage in racing and cars and Formula 1,' Robert said. 'We thought it would get them interested in engineering careers, and in STEM, but it's not just engineering—it's also around architectural design and marketing.

'It's very entrepreneurial with about 15 different award categories at events.

'It also improves 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication, information technology and teamwork.

'There are students who want to get into our academy class specifically to race these cars—it's definitely for a niche group of students who are keen to be part of a team while developing specific skills.'

'Our academy numbers have grown over the last couple of years and the results are really good,' Robert said.

Bowen SHS success

Last year an all-female Bowen SHS team made it through to the national finals in Adelaide for the first time.

While they came 8th out of 11 finalists, Robert said reaching the national finals​ was a huge success.

'We were the only state high school from Queensland to go to nationals in 2024,' Robert said.

'We didn't have the resources and as much development compared to other schools.'

Success breeding success

Bowen SHS student, Hugo Williams, said the team's success has provided carry-over benefits for the younger teams coming through.

'The grade 11 girls that went to the nationals last year are now giving us some pointers—things like what to expect, what to look for in a car and what a top team at the nationals needs to be like.' Hugo said.

And it's paid off—Hugo is in 'team Farina' which received a wildcard entry to compete at the Nationals in Melbourne earlier this year where they placed 8th out of 10 tea​ms.

Principal Robert agrees success builds success.

'The experience for our students from a lower socioeconomic rural school has inspired them to set higher goals for themselves,' Robert said.

Aiming high

The school also has 6 teams going to the state finals in October in Townsville.

Robert believes his school can really ratchet it up now they have the nationals experience under their belt.

'Now we've been there we kind of know what to do—I think as a school we are ready to progress to winning nationals and even progressing to worlds which is my goal for this year,' Robert said.

Team Farina Captain Tom Darwen says the prize of winning nationals is huge for kids hooked on the sport.

'They're always held at an actual F1 Grand Prix because they're very linked,' Tom said. 'F1 recognises STEM racing as it is seen as a development pathway into aerodynamics for the real F1 landscape, so it's always hosted there—finals can be held in Singapore, Abu Dhabi or Silverstone in the UK.'

Heavy workload

Another Bowen SHS student and STEM racing enthusiast Will Weekes agrees the benefits of signing up for STEM racing far outweigh the workload commitment.

'The workload is definitely a lot bigger than our other subjects and it continues over a longer period,' Will said.

'We are grouped into teams which often meet after school and sometimes over weekends,' Will said. 'We do a lot of video-calling and talking about the car.

'We need to think about all the different aspects to make sure your team is 'on.'

'We learn a lot of new skills that can help you in the workforce. And then there's the whole branding side of the team, like building a brand… building a race team.'

Driven by passion and critical thinking

Tom Darwen summed up what it means to be part of STEM racing when he described the critical thinking behind building his team's car wheel.

'A standard wheel is really heavy at about 5g, so I designed one made out of carbon fibre infused nylon with a lightweight spoke structure,' Tom said.

'It's about 0.6 of 1mm thin with an outside layer of 0.2mm giving it a lot less inertia so it can spin more easily—and it's only about 0.5g.'

Funding for future success

Building cars and sending kids around the state and even interstate can cost a lot of money; but the school has a strategy to overcome this challenge.

'It's all covered by sponsorships,' Robert said. 'We've got some great sponsors in town. Abbot Point Operations has been our platinum sponsor for the last 4 years,' he said. 'And lots of local small business owners are donating and sponsoring.'

As well as paying for team uniforms plus travel costs, the sponsorship money, plus a small amount of funding the school injects, has enabled Bowen SHS to also purchase a $20,000 UK made milling machine that creates the balsa wood car bases.

'Over the last couple of years, we have invested $60,000 of sponsorship and school funds into the program,' Robert said.

However, as their program is growing, they still need more equipment.

'For example, we don't have a proper racetrack here,' Robert said. 'They can cost from $6,000 up to $13,000 depending on the quality of the track.

'So, we do a lot of wind tunnel testing—I'm really proud of the students and how successful they've been because they don't get to practise on a racetrack compared to other bigger secondary schools and private schools.'

But whether or not Bowen SHS teams come home with state, national or international wins, STEM racing has inspired these student​s to reach high and has placed them on track for a bright future.