TWO teams of Marlborough students have fired their rocket cars into the national finals of a national competition.

The St John’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) students took part in regional heats at RNAS Yeovilton on May 8, testing their model cars at speeds in excess of 50mph.

The Muppets and the Flaming Fajitas competed with South West schools trouncing the opposition earning them a place in the National Finals at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford on June 27, after finishing first and second.

Teacher Gary England said: “I was so proud of all of the students. They demonstrated just what you can achieve when you work together, listen to each other’s ideas and combine their understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths in a creative way to solve a problem.

“They worked in teams to produce model cars out of styrofoam blocks that reflected their own designs.

“St John’s students made templates prior to the event for the shape of car they thought would be light and aerodynamic and used them to accurately manufacture their car on the day.

“They then generated new wheel designs, improving their original design at the school race day in April. Students chose a new lighter material, switching from MDF wheels to thinner and lighter High Impact Polystyrene which were laser cut at school for absolute precision.”

Winning team the Flaming Fajitas are: Poppy-Rose Oliver, Ollie Peck, Florence Roche, Lily Spilman and Matilda Stormer, while runners up the Muppets are Isabel Nutall, Erin Winter, Freddie White and Theo Turner.