A TEAM of Kelly College students are to take part in the regional final of a prestigious technology and engineering competition at the end of this month.

The Toyota STEM Challenge is now in its ninth year and its objective is to excite young students in technology and engineering activities, while encouraging them to consider the environment, potential use if recycling materials and innovative ideas for future car design.

Schools registered with the competition received a free kit from Rapid, with all the components necessary to build a vehicle.

They then made modifications to earn more marks by making their vehicle more environmentally friendly, improving their vehicle performance and creating their own team identity. The participating schools then submitted a project folder, and those judged to have submitted the best project folders in each category were progressed to the regional final.

The Kelly College team, named 'Kelly Solar Flares', will be taking part in regional final for the south west on April 30 at the At-Bristol Science Museum.

The students are tasked with racing an environmentally friendly model vehicle, which has been designed and built by the students themselves.

Kelly College Science Technician Mark Tailyour, who has been assisting the students with their project, said: 'The students have shown great dedication and have given up a lot of their own time for the project.

'They have worked extremely hard to design and build a solar racer car, which is both innovative and practical.

'Along the way they have learned a great deal about the scientific theory as well as principles of design and engineering.'

Chris Calver, education manager of Rapid, said: 'Technology is an important factor in driving the UK economy and so it is vital companies such as Toyota and Rapid inspire the engineers of tomorrow.

'The level of design and innovation we see throughout the challenge shows us the future is bright for British engineering.'

If successful at the regional event, as well as winning prize money of £250 for their school, the team will be invited to compete at the national final.

Here, they will not only have an opportunity to increase their prize money by a further £750 but could also win an action packed adventure UK holiday.