Race to Learn

Posted on Wednesday 24 Jun 2009 and tagged with corporate, team.

Williams F1 and Cambridge University Press have announced the launch of Race to Learn, the new educational resource that brings the excitement of Formula One to the primary classroom.

Race to Learn is an easy-to-use interactive DVD-ROM for teachers to use in the classroom with children in years 5 and 6 (ages 9 to 11). The exciting world of Grand Prix racing provides the engaging real-life context for a fully cross-curricular resource. Focussing particularly on science, maths and literacy, Race to Learn also covers a wide range of additional curriculum areas including technology, geography and citizenship. Each activity comes with detailed links to the relevant curriculum objectives to enable it to be fitted neatly into teachers’ planning.

Working in small groups, children form their own racing teams to complete tasks carefully designed to develop their group-working skills. Even reluctant learners are engaged by the positive models of effective group-working drawn from the highly motivating real-life context of a Formula One team and featuring exclusively licensed real-life video content from Grands Prix. Rewarding activities and exclusive behind-the-scenes content ensure that the engagement level never slips.

Race to Learn’s twelve half-day sessions can be used in any order, intensively over the course of a dedicated topic week or over an entire term, making it a flexible classroom resource. And at the end of their Race to Learn experience, teams can represent their schools in a nation-wide race for exciting prizes by choosing their favourite work to enter into the Williams F1 Fast Track competition.

In a demonstration of the successful teamwork that Race to Learn will inspire in pupils, Cambridge University Press and Williams F1 have each brought their own unique talents to this project. Cambridge has provided its expertise in educational content developed over 425 years of publishing, and Williams exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the world of Formula One motor racing. Software development is by Cambridge-Hitachi, a joint venture between Cambridge University Press and Hitachi Software Engineering.

John Tuttle, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press’s New Directions Group said, “Cambridge University Press seeks to be at the front of the grid when it comes to innovation in the educational publishing world. We are therefore well placed to partner Williams F1 in this important initiative. The world of Formula One provides a highly motivating environment for children to learn in key curriculum areas such as science, maths and literacy, as well as the group-working skills that are essential not only in the pit-lane but in the classroom, in the office and beyond.”

Frank Williams, AT&T Williams' Team Principal, said, “For me, this team is all about great technology and intense competition. The idea behind Race To Learn is to bring a flavour of what we do into the classroom, to get children excited about teamwork and their studies. I hope in this way we can play a part in making sure that new generations have the technical and team-working skills not only to sustain sports like Formula One but also to contribute more broadly to society. And perhaps along the way we will find the girl or boy who will one day design the 2040 championship-winning car!”

To find out more about Race to Learn, visit www.racetolearn.org  for a demonstration and footage from the launch events, or contact Alastair Horne, Innovations Manager, New Directions Group, Cambridge University Press, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8BS.  Tel: 01223 325686 or email ahorne@cambridge.org

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