Ringmer College: Green Car Grand Prix

Ringmer College, a 2008 Ashden Award winner, recently held its "Green Car Grand Prix", when there pupils built and raced electric cars.
The kits to build the cars were from Greenpower, but the pupils had to do the assembly and design the bodywork of the cars.

Nine teams entered, and there were over 150 members of the public came to watch, and see the winning team awarded the trophy.

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Ringmer College Races Ahead with Green Initiatives

Ringmer Community College in Sussex has been busy since winning an award from us in June 2008. They were recently awarded with a 4th green flag for their impressive energy-saving activities in the College, led by the well-named eco coordinator Stephen Green. Other plans that include a sponsored green car race are making the school an inspiring model for others to follow.

Receiving green flag status is the highest Eco Schools accolade a British school can win, "This is the 4th year running for us. Our success was largely down to simple but effective measures like vigilant energy monitoring and energy saving around the school" says Stephen Green.

Thanks to prize money from the Ashden Awards, students can now closely track the energy use of the College’s ground source heat pump with an easy to view monitor in the Sixth Form building entrance and science labs.

The growing profile the college has enjoyed since winning the Award, has also helped Ringmer secure new support from the County Council which will enable them to install a new biomass boiler later this year. This will burn wood chip, a sustainable fuel. The college will then be able to boast yet another renewable energy source to add to its solar panel display, wind turbine and ground source heat pump.

The College was recently chosen as a pilot school by the County Council to work with researchers on new insulation measures. To make this crucial energy measure more engaging for the pupils, they plan to use Perspex panels in the ceiling to show different types of traditional and modern insulation – from sheep’s wool to high tech fabrics - and even use human hair from a sponsored hair cut!

On June 6th the College will hold a fun-packed Green Car Grand Prix with several local primary schools. Using electric cars supplied by Green Power Goblin Cars, the children will make and drive the cars themselves to test their endurance and technical prowess, and learn about fuel efficiency, efficient driving habits etc. Some of the Ashden prize money is going to this exciting event, with an Ashden trophy going to the winner.

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Video of Ashden Awards Imperial College seminar 2008

On 18 June 2008 the Ashden Awards and Imperial College held a seminar where the 2008 Awards finalists presented their work. The video of the event is now available to view online, as shown below. If you would like to view the slides separately, PDF files can be downloaded here.
Welcome and introduction to the day:
- Professor Sir Peter Knight, Principal of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College

Session 1: Stoves for cooking and industry
Chair: Dr Keith Pullen, Reader at City University and founder of Developing Technologies.

• Reuben Mtitu and John Mtitu (Kisangani Smith Group, Tanzania), Blacksmiths develop wood-saving stoves
• Milkyas Debebe (Gaia Association, Ethiopia), Clean, safe ethanol stoves for refugee homes
• Svati Bhogle (Technology Informatics Design Endeavour, India), Wood-saving stoves for small businesses in South India
• Questions

Session 2: Sustainable energy building local enterprise
Chair: Dr Keith Pullen, Reader at City University and founder of Developing Technologies.

• João Alderi do Prado (Cooperativa Regional de Eletrificação Rural do Alto Uruguai Ltda, Brazil), Cooperative uses mini hydro to increase electricity supply on local grid
• Angello Ndyaguma (Fruits of the Nile, Uganda), Solar drying business links rural farmers with export markets
• Questions

Session 3: Solar PV and beyond
Chair: Dr Jeremy Woods, Lecturer in Bioenergy, Imperial College

• NK Joshi (Aryavart Gramin bank, India), Bank helps customers to buy solar home systems
• Luo Xinlian and Wang Wei (Renewable Energy Development Programme, China), Building the solar PV industry in China
• Dipal Barua (Grameen Shakti, Bangladesh), Rapidly growing solar installer provides clean cooking as well
• Questions

Session 4: Local authorities and schools
Chair: Dr Anne Wheldon, Technical Director, the Ashden Awards

• Roger Wood (Arun District Council, West Sussex), District council brings energy efficiency throughout its operations
• Alan Jones (Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire), Continually improving efficiency in a large housing stock
• Questions
• Stephen Green, Kathy Stonier and pupils (Ringmer Community College, East Sussex), Secondary pupil-led commitment to managing energy
• Emma Lacey, Joe Johnson and pupils (Sandhills Primary School, Oxford), Sustainable energy throughout the culture and curriculum of a primary school
• Questions

Session 5: Businesses and charities
Chair: Dr Anne Wheldon, Technical Director, the Ashden Awards

• Richard Freeborn (Kensa, Cornwall), Design and manufacture of heat pumps for easy installation
• Ian Draisey (Dulas, Powys, Wales), Diverse renewable energy services from employee-owned business
• Questions
• Trewin Restorick (Global Action Plan, London), Bringing energy efficiency to the workplace and beyond
• Liz Marquis and Michael Carr (Energy Agency, Ayrshire, Scotland), Using a community wind fund to improve energy efficiency of homes
• Questions

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