A young Denbigh High School pupil has made her mark in an international F1 competition in Abu Dhabi

Fourteen-year-old Libby Chapman is one of only 10 talented youngsters from across the world selected to join the Unilever Williams Engineering Academy.

Libby was a member of the Denbigh High School team which represented Wales at the F1 in Schools Final held in Abu Dhabi to coincide with the final race in this year’s Grand Prix Series won by Lewis Hamilton.

The team comprised of Libby, who was the design engineer, and her 15-year-old Year 10 colleagues Tom Fishwick (manufacturing engineer), Zara Addis (resources manager) and Hollie Lloyd (team manager).

Denbigh High School has had considerable success in the  competition in the past and this year’s team, which qualified by winning the regional and Welsh finals, picked up many useful hints from last year’s entrants.

Competition in the world final was extremely keen, with 55 teams, and the Denbigh quartet , under the company name of Quantum, was among the youngest.

Rules for the competition are stringent, with all teams required to demonstrate not only design skills but team work, marketing  ability and financial nous, and they had to produce a portfolio to support their entry.

Most of the teams came from independent schools but Quantum had to raise £27,000 through grants, sponsorship and fundraising activities.

Their dedication in the two years leading up to the world final was  phenomenal as the project took up most of their spare time.

“We worked at it every single dinner break, after school and during holidays, and one night we were even in school until 11.30pm,” said Libby .

Teams are allowed to compete only twice in the world final and the Quantum quartet  are already looking forward to qualifying again next year.

“We know now what the judges are looking for and how we can improve,” said Hollie.

The technical input came from Tom, who ensured that their entry met all the strict criteria.

“I’ve always been interested in engineering and over the years I’ve learned specific skills,” he said.

Libby caught the eye of the judges after a series of written and practical challenges set by Williams engineers and the 300+ youngsters were whittled down to 10, all of whom will be mentored over the next 12 months .

She is still waiting to hear the exact details of the scheme, which is aimed at offering advice and guidance to the next generation of engineering stars, and is still not sure what career she will eventually follow.

“But this is a great chance which will be great for my CV,” she said.

Gareth Jones, Denbigh High’s head of design and technology, who accompanied the team to Abu Dhabi, said he was very proud of their achievements and their professionalism.

“The standard of work from all the teams in the competition was awe-inspiring,” he said.