Would-be engineers from Nelson and Colne College cast their expert eyes over one of the vehicles due to compete in what organisers are calling, “Formula One meets Comicon.”
The Super Soap Box Challenge sponsored by Nelson and Colne College, will see daredevil drivers take to the wheel in their soap box in front of crowded streets in Colne on Sunday 30 June.
To make sure that the Nelson and Colne College team is as ready as it can be, apprentices from the College demonstrated their own speedy progress by giving the NCC cart an engineering MOT. They used the knowledge they have learnt during their college studies, and the skills they have gained through their work at their companies, to assess the cart for safety and speed.
Whilst for the Super Soapbox Challenge crowd, the race is a great spectacle, for competitors it is a serious business. And technically, a successfully converted vehicle will have a solid chassis, light bodywork, sound brakes and of course, decent shock absorbers, which is why the apprentices pulled out all the stops to make sure the cart was in great shape.
Nelson and Colne College run a raft of engineering courses from its impressively equipped workshops and classrooms in Nelson. These range from the nuts and bolts of Engineering at Apprenticeship Level 2 through to T Levels (the equivalent of three A-Levels).
“As a professional organiser of soapbox racing events, it’s a privilege, once again, to bring The Nelson and Colne College Super Soapbox Challenge back to Colne on Sunday, June 30th. The event was a huge success last year, attracting well over 25,000 people and with Nelson & Colne College’s and Colne BID’s support, we anticipate the crowds will be even bigger this year, making it a fun-filled family day out for everyone;” commented Andrew Pearson, Marketing Director of The Super Soapbox Challenge Company.
Aneesa McGladdery, The Manager at the Colne BID, added: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Nelson and Colne College on this year’s Soapbox Challenge, we are hoping that the students will be able to put the theory into practice through the design and build of the carts. The day will be jam packed, with the start ramp just outside Colne Town Hall, an artisan market with plenty of street food up Church Street and Market Street and a Fun Fair all along Market Street. There really will be something for everyone!”
Chief Executive and Principal of Nelson and Colne College Group, Lisa O’Loughlin said: “Nelson and Colne College has made a considerable investment into ensuring that the young people training to be engineers have something as close to a real-life working environment as possible. That is also the case for beauticians, hairdressers and those wanting a career in sport. The purpose of sponsoring the Super Soapbox Challenge is to make sure young people know that they have such an outstanding college on their doorstep.
It is going to be a really exciting, lively event, and it could also put young people on the road to a promising future!”
Learn more about the engineering courses at Nelson and Colne College and across the Nelson and Colne College Group, by visiting https://www.accross.ac.uk/coursesearch/?coursesearch=&swpquery=engineering
Discover more about the Colne Super Soapbox Challenge by going to https://supersoapboxchallenge.co.uk/colne/
