A DRIVE to boost interest in engineering among youngsters has been launched in Oxfordshire, writes David Duffy.

On the eve of the British Grand Prix, the Formula Schools 2000 contest aims to produce potential future racetrack engineers and mechanics by focusing attention on motorsport.

The project, sponsored by the Heart of England Training and Enterprise Council, involves hundreds of 15 and 16-year-olds spending several months designing and building scale-model cars.

The finished petrol-powered racers, capable of reaching scale speeds of up to 200mph, compete in a final staged at Silverstone.

Sponsors include Formula One teams TWR Arrows at Leafield, Enstone-based Benetton and Reynard at Bicester.

TEC chief executive Barrie Giles said: "Engineering's reputation for being a dirty, dead-end occupation is not justified.

"It is more often than not, a well-paid and hi-tech environmentin which to work. Sadly though, we cannot hope to change the views of young people, and in particular their parents, overnight.

"We can only hope that, over time, initiatives like Formula Schools 2000 will have some effect." This year's competition, won by the Scorpions team from Banbury School, was voted a high performance success.

The victorious team had the benefit of an extra year's experience in the competition. Last year the contest was run as an experiment within Banbury School and it was extended this year to schools in and around Oxfordshire.

The Formula Schools 2000 project is one of a number of schemes aimed at meeting a skills gap in the motorsport Industry.

A specialised engineering degree course is being run at Oxford Brookes University and in September this year at least ten young people will embark on a new Modern Apprenticeship through Rycotewood College in Thame.

Shock absorber firm Spax, of Bicester, is setting up a graduate entry scheme to attract highly-qualified engineers and the Portman Racing Formula Three team at Long Crendon has also forged a link with Leafield-based TWR Arrows which has the long-term aim of setting up a scheme to produce racetrack mechanics and engineers.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.