News
Turbo Snails shift into STEM Racing gear
3 June 2026
St George’s team – The Turbo Snails – competed in the Luxembourg STEM Racing National Finals hosted by the International School of Luxembourg (ISL) on Saturday, 23 May 2026. The highest-performing teams from the event earned the right to represent Luxembourg at the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals in Singapore.
Our 2026 team of Frederick, Victor, Henry, Tudor, Graham and John (with Wojtek unfortunately unable to attend but cheering from afar) faced a monumental challenge. They were competing against veteran teams who had spent months refining their aerodynamics, mastering CAD software (AutoCAD / Fusion 360) and meticulously manufacturing their cars.
In contrast, The Turbo Snails were starting from scratch. Working under immense pressure with a development window of just 1.5 hours, the team demonstrated resilience and rapid problem-solving. With support from the school's IT department (who swiftly secured licences and set up the complex design software), the boys successfully engineered and manufactured a working car just in time for the starting grid.
A successful STEM Racing team requires more than just a fast car – it requires branding and driver skill. Henry dedicated his time at home to designing the official Turbo Snails logo, giving the team a professional edge. Meanwhile, recognising that human reaction times are critical to track performance, the team spent every spare moment relentlessly practising their F1 reaction time skills. This data-driven approach ensured the fastest driver was in charge on race day. Tudor initially led the pack, followed by John and finally Graham took the helm as the primary driver, with each of them honing their reflexes to a razor's edge as the competition progressed.
The real-world engineering challenges continued right up to the start line. True to the spirit of live motorsport, our students had to think on their feet, applying core STEM skills in real-time. Victor demonstrated fantastic mechanical ingenuity by repurposing spare bushes into custom wheel spacers, while Frederick and Graham executed a lightning-fast "pit stop" to repair and reset the car after a wheel detached during the opening race.
Despite the short timeline, The Turbo Snails successfully progressed to the finals and put in a highly respectable track performance against cars that took months to build. What they achieved in mere hours is a massive accomplishment. Their teamwork, adaptability under pressure and on-the-fly engineering were outstanding.
This pioneering effort has paved the way for St George’s future in the competition. Building on the foundation laid by this year's team, Mr Mills and Mr Dyson will officially launch the St George’s STEM Racing Club in September. Thanks to the hard work and experience of our 2026 team, we will return next season in a much stronger position, with the time needed to fully develop our designs.
A massive thank you to the team for dedicating the first day of their holiday to admirably representing St George’s. Bring on 2027!
