September 21, 2013
Year 7 students at St Mary’s Catholic College have put a new spin on the traditional art of billycart racing.
The students were set a challenge over the past two terms to design and build their own billycarts as part of an integrated unit that included science, tech, English and maths.
The students had to present their results to the class and prepare their carts to pass a safety check.
Each cart also had to have a seat belt fitted and a brake.
The nine billycarts that were manufactured competed in the inaugural St Mary’s Billycart Challenge on Thursday around a course on the school’s oval.
The students pushing the carts quickly learned that a pretty cart is not necessarily a fast cart, and why design really matters.
After a series of elimination heats, three teams; Rainbow, Delta Lions and Roney Ponies competed in the grand final.
Rainbow’s light cart with cambered wheels proved too fast and took the chequered flag.
After the presentation of the Billycart Challenge Cup, the students then took their teachers for a lap around the track.
For the record, the winner of the teachers’ race was Sarah McCarthy who was powered by the Best Bees team.
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