YOUNG engineers have scooped a national prize thanks to their ingenious ideas - but it was a close call.

Students from the Sir John Colfox Academy made it to the final of a cross-curricular Jaguar Land Rover STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) contest.

There were three classes; entry level, development and professional class, with Colfox students competing in development.

The students designed a shell for a remote controlled 4x4 rock crawler vehicle and engineered electronics for it, complete with automatic lights which come on in the dark and a tilt sensor which sounds when the vehicle tilts past 25 degrees. The vehicle had to be made to a precise specification and in a limited time frame -a challenge in itself - but also had to come up with a team name, identity and branding. They had to raise all funds for materials and travel/ accommodation themselves to be able to compete in the national final event which took place at The British Motor Museum in Warwickshire.

They also needed to create a 10-page portfolio of their work, a pit display, a 10 minute verbal presentation and undergo a grilling from judges, who were Jaguar Land Rover engineers. They also had to prove their engineering skills worked by driving their car on an obstacle course which went over, in, on and around two brand new Land Rover discovery cars in the best time possible.

The Colfox team, STEM Storm Squared, was made up of Eddie Rose, Jake Randall, Ben Pimbley, Zac Dixon and Cara Hatch.

On day one of the final, the team arrived at the museum to discover they had forgotten their car. This put our team at a disadvantage on the first day as one of the first tasks was to complete the first timed track run. STEM Storm Squared had to use a practice car for this, which cost them a 75 per cent point deduction. The team completed their verbal presentation and a Q&A following with judges.

On day two, the team had a second timed track run. They had their own car now and with a 75 per cent points deduction on day one, the pressure was on for this run to be the best. The team rose to the challenge and completed their track run, hitting only a few cones and failing three obstacles.The rest of day two involved a pit display interview, complete a coding challenge and have their tow bar tested for strength.

At the end of day two, it was time to hand out the prizes. There were prizes for some of the single aspects, such as best pit display, best verbal presentation and best team identity, with STEM Storm Squared picking up an award for best engineered car. Prizes for the best overall score were given out and the team won first place in its category.

The team had phoned many companies asking for donations and sponsorship and also made a plea via social media and in the Bridport News for donations through their crowdfunding page. They received an excellent response from the community and have thanked those who helped.

The team is now looking forward to progressing in the project in the next class up; professional class. They have the chance to go and watch the professional class teams compete in the international final to gain inspiration for their own professional class project. The team are also keen to mentor new upcoming teams in the competition.

A spokesman for Colfox said: "The staff couldn’t be more proud of these young people and all that they have accomplished. Well done and good luck in professional class."