YOUNG TECH TALENTS WIN LAND ROVER CODING CHALLENGE

27 March 2018

More than 150 talented future software engineers from schools across the UK competed in the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge national finals.

  • More than 150 of the best young engineering minds from across the UK compete in Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge national final
  • Students use software coding to design and build miniature remote‑controlled 4x4s
  • Competition unearths future talent for Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading investor in research and development
  • More than 3 million young people have taken part in Jaguar Land Rover's global education programme since 2000
  • School team from The King’s School in Worcester wins 2018 prize, beating teams from Manchester and Lincolnshire

Whitley, UK, Tuesday 27 March 2018 More than 150 talented future software engineers from schools across the UK competed in the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge national finals.

The skilled young engineers, aged 11‑19, used computer coding to programme miniature remote‑controlled four‑wheel‑drive vehicles they designed and built for a two‑day competition at the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire. In the challenge, teams operate as small businesses and manage all stages of their 4x4 product cycle which helps them develop key business behaviours such as critical thinking and problem solving. In one challenge their vehicles negotiated a demanding course that wound its way over and through Land Rover Discovery SUVs.

The engineering contest, which supports curriculum learning, included a coding challenge to encourage engagement with STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and inspire the next generation of engineers to design and develop future autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles. The coding task required them to write code to enable an autonomous car to complete the track in the fastest time with no human intervention.

Team EDGE 4X4 from The King’s School were crowned 2018 champions, with The Mancunian Way from Altrincham Grammar School and team Trigonometric from Spalding Grammar School in second and third places respectively.

Jaguar Land Rover is a tech company and we need more talented young people to join our business to help us develop innovative autonomous, connected, electric and shared technologies. The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Challenge plays a vital role introducing young people to the huge range of STEM careers we offer and also nurturing their electrical and coding skills, which are vital to our cutting‑edge business.

Alex Heslop
Director of Electrical Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover

It feels amazing to win! We’ve invested a lot of time and passion in our 4x4 and are delighted with our performance. We’ve all thoroughly enjoyed the competition and would all love to become engineers in the future.

Ed Cosson
Team manager

The global competition has helped the company reach more than 3 million young people since 2000. Teams qualify through a series of regional events. Team EDGE 4X4’s vehicle has an innovative 4 wheel drive system and unique suspension.

Following the success of its 2017 code‑breaking recruitment challenge, Jaguar Land Rover will be fast‑tracking applications for undergraduate and postgraduate placements for computer science, electronics or software engineering students in the UK, Ireland and China. Postgraduate opportunities are also available in these regions and in the USA. Successful entrants will apply their technical expertise to design software for future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. Talented students wanting to electrify their career prospects should apply via https://jlr.avature.net/FormulaeOverview?tags=formula‑e%7Cformula‑e‑overview.

For more information, or to find out more about working for Jaguar Land Rover, visit www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.

ENDS

YOUNG_TECH_TALENTS_WIN_LAND_ROVER_CODING_CHALLENGE

Further information

For further information contact:

Kate Birkenhead, Responsible Business PR and Communications, Jaguar Land Rover
M: 07780 494 352, E: kbirkenh@jaguarlandrover.com

Alison Hill, Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge PR Officer
M: 07710 306588, E: Alison@id‑pr.co.uk

Notes to Editors

RESULTS

Award

Winning Team

School

UK National Champions Professional Class

EDGE 4X4

The King's School, Worcester

2nd Place Professional Class

THE MANCUNIAN WAY

Altrincham Grammar School For Boys, Altrincham

3rd Place Professional Class

TRIGONOMETRIC

Spalding Grammar School, Spalding

1st Place Development Class

RELATIVITY

The Royal Grammar School, Newcastle Upon Tyne

2nd Place Development Class

VULCAN

St. Olave's Grammar School, London

3rd Place Development Class

WILD CATS

All Saints Catholic High School, Merseyside

Coding Challenge Award

THE DOCS

Woodfarm High School, Glasgow

Best Track Performance

TRIGONOMETRIC

Spalding Grammar School, Spalding

Professional Class: Best Engineered Vehicle

THE MANCUNIAN WAY

Altrincham Grammar School For Boys, Altrincham

Development Class: Best Engineered Vehicle

THE DOCLETS

Woodfarm High School, Glasgow

Verbal Presentation Award

400X4

Richard Hale School, Hertford

Innovative Thinking

IGNITION

Robert May's School, Hampshire

Team Identity Award

11TH HOUR 4X4

King Edward's School, Bath

Pit Display Award

EDGE 4X4

The King's School, Worcester

Judge’s Award

PANTHERS

The Thomas Hardye School, Dorchester

Pull Challenge Award

K.E.S. TEMPEST

King Edward VI School, Stratford Upon Avon

 

About Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world’s leading manufacturer of premium all‑wheel‑drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world’s premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.

We employ more than 43,000 people globally and support around 240,000 more through our dealerships, suppliers and local businesses. Manufacturing is centred in the UK, with additional plants in China, Brazil, Austria and Slovakia.

At Jaguar Land Rover, we are driven by a desire to deliver class‑leading vehicles, which will provide experiences our customers will love, for life. Our products are in demand around the globe. In 2017 Jaguar Land Rover sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles being sold abroad. 

Our innovation is continuous: we will spend more than £4 billion this year on new product creation and capital expenditure.

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice. We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug‑in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra‑clean petrol and diesel engines.