◾Over 1,000 school children compete in 2015 Gathering of Goblins◾Record crowds attend Goodwood Motor Circuit for Greenpower Education Trust’s largest race event geared towards 9-11 year olds ◾Funtington Primary, based in Chichester, scoop four awards◾CBBC Blue Peter presenters participate in Goblin all-electric cars

Greenpower Education Trust held its 2015 Gathering of Goblins race meeting at Goodwood Motor Circuit, on Sunday 12 July, with a total of 84 school teams lining-up on the grid. Celebrating over ten years of the event, it was the biggest and best Goblin final since the Gathering’s inception, with a crowd of more than 2,000.

The IET Formula Goblin class for 9-11 year olds is Greenpower’s youngest race category, with the ‘Gathering’ being the final event this season for that age group. Known as the charity’s flagship race, school teams – each comprising of up to 12 children – travel to the famous West Sussex track from all across the UK to compete.

Racing electric-powered cars they have built themselves, the primary schools taking part are provided with single-seater Goblins (in kit form) that can reach speeds of up to 15 mph.

The Gathering of Goblins is made up of four races, namely the slalom, drag, sprint and the ‘lap of champions’ – which involves all cars completing a full lap of the 2.4 mile Goodwood track. The main aim of Greenpower is to inspire the next generation of much needed engineers, via hands-on STEM education in schools and the Goblins help to make this happen.

Special guests at this year’s Goblin final included CBBC Blue Peter presenters Barney Harwood and Radzi Chinyanganya. Participating in three of the four races, CBBC were filming an upcoming feature for the children’s well-known and well-loved show.

Greenpower Education Trust CEO, Jeremy Way, said: “Congratulations to all our competing Goblin teams, it’s been a fantastic event. Each year the Gathering of Goblins just gets better and better – I don’t know how we will trump 2015 next year, but I’m sure it’s possible, mainly down to the sheer enthusiasm of all involved.

“Being a charity we rely on the support of sponsors to be able to host events such as this, in order to really bring engineering to life for school children in a fun and inspiring environment. A big thank you goes to Siemens, Silverline and IET for their continued commitment to the education of future engineers in the UK.”

The 2015 Gathering of Goblins race results are as follows: 

Slalom 1                      Funtington Primary – XLR8 Slalom 2                      Newick C of E School – Newick Proton Slalom 3                      South Malling C of E Primary – Purple Penguins Drag 1                         Bosmere Junior School – The Bosmere Bus Drag 2                         Funtington Primary – XLR8 Drag 3                         Bursley Academy – Goblin 3 Sprint 1                       Summerlea CP School – Kit Car 1 Sprint 2                       Bursley Academy – Goblin 3 Sprint 3                       Funtington Primary – XLR8 Lap of champions 1     Twyford School – Twyford School Lap of champions 2      Four Marks C of E Primary School – Green Goblin Lap of champions 3      Newick C of E School – Newick Proton Best bodywork             Swanbourne Primary Greenest bodywork      Wickham Primary School – Wickham Wheelies Best presented team  St Faith’s School   Spirit of Greenpower  St Margaret’s Primary School Portfolio award           Newton Primary School Overall winner              Funtington Primary – XLR8