OVER 600 speed-demons will descend on Castle Combe on Saturday to take part in final Greenpower heats of the season.

The races involve sustainably-powered single-seaters, driven by participating school teams, that all feature the same motor and 12 volt batteries supplied by Greenpower.

Students put the cars together themselves as part of an enhanced STEM education programme, and design their own bodywork using Siemens Solid Edge software.

The Greenpower initiative is open to students of all ages across the country, from primary school level to university undergraduates. The charity runs three race championships – Goblins (9-11 year olds), IET Formula 24 (11-16 year olds) and IET Formula 24+ (16-25 year olds).

Greenpower Education Trust CEO, Jeremy Way, said in the build-up to the weekend: “This year our Renishaw Castle Combe race meeting will feature more school teams than ever before, with a packed grid of 41 F24 and 20 F24+ cars.

“Our domestic and international race series are expanding, and in 2015 we have seen the largest increase in participating schools in the history of the charity – across all race categories.

“We rely on sponsors to assist us in hosting our events, and Renishaw, who share our passion for engineering and innovation, has continued to support Greenpower by backing our Castle Combe heats. We thank them on behalf of all the students that are able compete at the Wiltshire based track.”

Chris Pockett, Head of Communications at Renishaw plc, commented: “We are very happy to support the Greenpower race series which we believe makes an excellent contribution towards the promotion of engineering amongst young people, their families and teachers.

“The key is the understanding that engineering can be a great deal of fun, as well as providing an interesting and rewarding career.”