Watch as Sunderland children go green by building an electric racing car with an important message about litter

Year 5 Children from Fulwell Junior School are getting ready to race after building their own environmentally friendly electric car.

As part of the Green Power car challenge, children at schools across the country were sent the raw materials to construct their own battery powered vehicle.

Pupils were also sent an online tutorial video outlining how to build the car with the remit of creating their own environmentally friendly bodywork design.

Aptly named the Fulwell Litterbug, pupils did a litter pick around school and decided to used non degradable items such as foil sweet wrappers and crisp packets to create their racing design.

Racing team member Zac Hanna, 10, said: “We wanted to go with the litterbug design to highlight the damage this type of waste can cause.

“It doesn’t breakdown and so can be a real danger to wildlife. Using the litter items on the car also shows the importance of recycling.”

Fellow team member Liv Ellis, 9, added: “Using the electric batteries also shows the importance of green energy.

“I have really enjoyed taking part in the project.”

After being delivered the meccano style raw construction materials the children have spent the last five weeks constructing, decorating and testing the cars.

On Monday (May 20) the pupils will join other teams from schools across the North East to take part in the Green Power regional racing final at Gateshead Stadium.

The racing teams, which consist of six drivers and six support teams, will race in four events including a drag race with emergency stop, slalom, sprint race and full circuit of the stadium’s 400m track.

Each driver will take part in each race with an average time then calculated for the team. The support team responsible for maintenance, pit stops, and giving the cars a ‘push start’.

Driver Heidi Foster, 10, said: “The project has been a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to Monday.

“It has also been good to work with people who aren’t in my class.”

Support team member Johnny Luyu, 9, added: “I’ve loved taking part in the project and in particular being able to drive the car.

“I’m really looking forward to Monday and I think we can win.”

From an initial joint class of 48 pupils, the group has been narrowed down to a race day team of just 12 children.

To get on the team pupils had to write a letter of application and go through a rigorous interview process.

The initiative was coordinated by Year 5 teacher, Holly Watson.

She said: “It has been a brilliant effort by all the children involved. They have taken to the project really well and their dedication has been brilliant.

“The message of promoting awareness of clean energy and recycling is a really important one.”