A racing team for the future of women in STEM

“My dream job would be a Formula One engineer”, says Imogen. “When I get older, I want to be a biomedical engineer”, echoes Macarena. These are two of the teenagers studying at Mayfield, an all-girls school in East Sussex, United Kingdom. Nanosurf has chosen to believe in their dreams and support their future in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The students, all between 14 and 16 years old, were seeking support to launch an F24 car racing team, and Nanosurf answered the call by financing their project. After months of work carried out entirely by the students under the supervision of physics teacher Adam Smith, the car is now almost ready for their first competition on 24 May 2026 in the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex (United Kingdom).

F24 is a special car championship organised by the UK charity Greenpower Education Trust for teenage students. The cars are entirely electric, limited to 25 mph, and must be assembled at school from a kit provided by the organisers. Once the vehicle is ready and officially inspected, teams can take part in races on sportscar tracks, where they must drive for an hour and a half. The team that achieves the highest mileage wins.

One of the Mayfield drivers with their F24 electric car in the picturesque school courtyard.
The branded bodywork will be added shortly before the race.

“Three of the girls who are current racers took it upon themselves to come up with this proposal of a F24 team, present it to our Headmistress and get things started. This was initiated entirely by the students”, explains Adam Smith.

The motivation to pursue the project is rooted in a clear awareness. “When we started looking into F24 more closely, we found that there were barely any all-girls schools involved. That gave us the motivation to start the team and inspire more women to enter the industry”, says Emma, one of the students. In the same spirit, Nanosurf is proud to support the future of women in STEM through concrete action, and believes that by engaging in an enjoyable project with a tangible outcome, the girls of Mayfield can develop their passion for engineering from an early age. The students are particularly drawn to the hands-on experience of building a car. “What I like about F24 is the opportunity to enter the STEM field and get a taste of different types of engineering and practical work on the car”, Emma explains.

The process of constructing a car, with metal to cut, wiring to complete, chains to fit and multiple components to assemble, is lengthy. “As you move through the process of building the car week after week, you gain a real sense of fulfilment when you see what you have accomplished”, says Emma. Not everything is straightforward, as Jennifer, a team member, notes: “We encountered many problems, and it strengthened our ability to solve them ourselves.” Teamwork also plays a crucial role, and the social dimension is an important part of the experience. “Being with your friends and socialising while working is great”, says Mylana, another team member.

The project offers considerable scope for developing understanding beyond the curriculum, as well as skills that would not normally be acquired in a standard lesson. “I think the biggest challenge for the girls has been time management, because this is completely new territory”, Adam Smith highlights.

The team is now preparing for their first race. The equipment is ready, and they only need to practise with the car. The girls have realistic expectations for their debut. “I think it is a learning process, as it is our first time. We will test what needs to be improved and what we need to change. The experience itself, going there, seeing all the different teams and being part of it, is really fun and exciting”, says Imogen. Mylana shares a similar perspective: “we're going to try our hardest. We plan to enter many competitions afterwards, so we want to learn as much as we can along the way and build our experience step by step.” The team has three designated drivers who will rotate in each race.

This is set to be a memorable experience for the students at Mayfield, and Nanosurf is cheering them on.