A renowned heritage site’s classic car events have seen a huge number of young people in attendance over the last year.

Bicester Heritage’s popular Scramble events welcomed 4,320 attendees under the age of 15 during 2022.

The event, held four times a year, invited some 7,000 attendees to the former RAF base, with under 15s given free entry.  

The Scramble events are planned with the entire family in mind, inviting petrolheads, and their families, from far and wide to explore an array of magnificent machines and to poke their heads into the workshops of the 50 specialist businesses on site.

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Scramble ticket sales raised a £20,691donation for charity partner StarterMotor, accrued by the sale of tickets during 2022.

StarterMotor’s mission is to put the next generation in the driving seat, encouraging them to enjoy historic motoring and the opportunities the £18.8 billion per annum sector offers.

The charity offers career awareness days, work experience and the opportunity to drive the charity’s classic fleet and representation at events including the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, providing opportunities for the future generation of motoring enthusiasts to learn new skills.

Normally accessible by appointment only, Bicester Heritage sits on the larger Bicester Motion site, the best-preserved WW2 RAF Bomber Station in the country.

The unique ‘motoring marina’ and collaborative ethos at Bicester Heritage is the Centre for Excellence for the future of the classic car industry in the UK.

During 2022 alone, a total of 1,031 discounted tickets were on offer for local people, a saving of over £8,000, welcoming in the local community to explore the restored site – which previously lay derelict before being acquired by Bicester Motion in 2013.

Daniel Geoghegan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our Scramble events truly are the best opportunity to experience Bicester Heritage at its best, and our intention is always to welcome as many interested local parties as possible to join us for these celebrations of both classics and modern machines.

“With 2022 having celebrated a plethora of events, I am sure 2023 will provide us with even more opportunity to support StarterMotor and celebrate with enthusiasts of all ages.”

Dave Withers, Chief Executive, StarterMotor added: “Bicester Heritage has been a principal supporter of StarterMotor from the beginning, and donations, particularly through Scrambles but in other areas too, have helped expand the charity mission year after year.

“Our youth ambassadors, volunteers and all the young beneficiaries are hugely grateful.”

Join Bicester Heritage’s membership group Scramblers at www.scramblers.bicesterheritage.co.uk and follow on Instagram @wearescramblers or Twitter via @WeAreScramblers and on Facebook at @Wearescramblers.

 

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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