Soapbox Challenge

Lesson: Learning Outside the Classroom

What a day! I think it is fair to say that the first ever Farndon Soapbox Challenge was a roaring success. 

On the school field, Parc Ferme was the home for 32 amaxing Karts - 26 senior entries and 6 juniors. So many teams had gone to a huge amount of effort in order to raise money for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd. 

Our School team - ZZ Top Rod - was led by Mr Bond and was made from a metal side panel from a trailor, 2 BMX bikes cut in half and some plywood sheets. And Mr McCann's paint job brought our Kart to life! We were all crossing our fingers that my Father in Law's welding would hold! 

The were some incredible Karts: Waxy Racers had a glamourous pink kart with huge lips and fluttering eye lashes. Team Chitty were a fans favourite with their kart that paid homage to the much loved film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My youngest son's particular favourite was Minion Madness which looked like one huge minion - Gru would have been so proud! After Mrs Wakefield's husband said he wanted to enter into the race, she said that he must be crackers! This inspired their cart which looked like a huge wedge of cheese. And who could forget Team Danger Zone! A Top Gun inspired F-14, complete with afterburner smoke at the finish. 

The route was lined with spectators who got to witness the karts race down the Farndon High Street, taking off on the jumps and narrowly avoiding the hay bales. 

As well as having fun, it was of course about those all important times! Congratulations must go to Team She Shed. They had 3 incredibly consistent times and had an overall time of 1 minute 39 seconds ; their winning margin was only a tenth of second!! And they apparently only started to build their kart 3 days before the race! Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards awarded them their trophy as they stood proudly on the podium. 

But the all important trophy was which kart got the most votes from the many fans which watched the race and scrutinised them in Parc Ferme. We were thrilled when Team ZZ Top just edged it, making all those hours building and welding well worth it. 

Not only was it a fabulous day and a wonderful event, bringing the community together, but it also raised a huge sum of money for a wonderful cause. By the end of Sunday, the money raised was in excess of £20,000.