The day saw 11 and 12-year-old girls from all across the county heading to the school to try out everything from designing a race car chassis to coding speedometers and learning how to deal with a medical emergency trackside.
Following its first lap around the track at Silverstone this February, the brand new Mercedes W10 Formula 1 car also made a pit stop at school as part of the day which included guided tours of the vehicle by F1 performance engineer, Cristiana Pace. Recently unveiled for the 2019 season, Lewis Hamilton hopes the car can fire him towards a sixth world title out on the track.
Led by Truro High staff and the team from Dare to be Different, the day aimed to inspire the next generation of female motorsport professionals to break the glass ceiling and take the lead out on the racetrack.
Founded by former F1 driver Susie Wolff and the Motor Sports Association (MSA) – Britain’s motorsport governing body – Dare To Be Different is a groundbreaking and high-profile programme designed to inspire, connect and celebrate women in every aspect of the sport.
Student motorsport ambassadors from the school’s Greenpower race car team were also involved in leading the workshops.
The day is a celebration of the news that Truro High is the first and only school in the country to be recognised as an official motorsport club by Motorsport UK. A first in UK automotive history, Motorsport UK invited the school to apply due to its excellent reputation for engineering.
As a result of being recognised, the school can now take part in events organised by other recognised clubs and invite these top-level organisations to its own events as well.
This will include students being able to train as race marshals. This will enable them to work at races all over the world and even go all the way to operating trackside at international Formula 1 events.
