Pupils at the Royal Grammar School (RGS) Newcastle have been sponsored by national partnership housing specialist Lovell to take part in a racing competition that promotes a range of engineering, design and teamwork skills.

The Scalextric4Schools competition aims to inspire the next generation of designers and engineers with a competition to devise, build and race a slot car. It is open to all UK secondary schools, colleges and educational organisations.

Lovell donated £400 to the RGS Newcastle Scalextric4Schools team, with the students using the money to pay for high end bearings, wheels, tyres and other parts for the car as well as branded team kit.

The company has also supported the team in other ways as Phil Jones, Lovell Director of Land and Partnerships for the North East and Marketing and Social Impact Manager Ashleigh Tate visited the school to find out all about the project and to see presentations by the pupils.

RGS Newcastle engineering, design and technology teacher Matthew Lowe, who mentors the Scalextric4Schools team, said: “Scalextric4Schools is an excellent programme which brings engineering to life in a fun, hands-on way. It gives students a chance to test their skills, creativity, and problem-solving, and to develop their teamworking skills.

“The donation from Lovell enabled the students to stretch themselves even further and gave access to materials and components they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Their regular visits to the department and probing questions were a real motivating factor and helped to give a fresh perspective on the development of their car.

“We are so grateful for their contribution, both financially and the time they gave to the school. This is an excellent way for a business to see what goes on in schools, and to have a hand in developing the engineers of the future.”

The school’s team of four pupils took part in the competition at the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience venue in Hinckley, Leicestershire, this summer, and came sixth out of around 30 teams taking part. It is the fourth year the school has entered a team.

Points are given for the fastest lap time, race time and team challenge time but other aspects of the project are assessed too. Teams are judged on a video presentation that shows the design journey; the pit area and displays featuring sponsorship details, design sheets and the team name and logo; and their teamwork.

Matthew also won the 2025 Scalextric4Schools Teacher Award for his work with the team.

Phil said: “Scalextric4Schools is an imaginative competition that spurs on young engineers and designers to learn, create, problem-solve, and work as a team – all while having great fun and competing with their peers.

“We were so impressed with what the pupils achieved throughout the process – the technical content and the quality and sheer quantity of the work involved was remarkable.

“Sponsorship is an important part of any race team, and we were very happy to be able to sponsor the RGS Newcastle team and see the Lovell logo proudly displayed on its model car.

“Congratulations to Matthew on his award for his mentoring of the team. We hope the pupils enjoyed taking part and that they learned a lot about engineering and teamwork throughout the process.”