June 19, 2009 -- Williams F1 and Cambridge University Press are pleased to announce the launch on June 19^th of Race to Learn, the new educational resource that brings the excitement of Formula One^TM to the primary classroom.

Race to Learn is an easy-to-use interactive DVD-ROM for teachers to use in the classroom with children in years 5 and 6. The exciting world of Grand Prix racing provides the engaging real-life context for a fully cross-curricular resource. Focussing particularly on science, maths and literacy, Race to Learn also covers a wide range of additional curriculum areas including technology, geography, and citizenship. Each activity comes with detailed links to the relevant curriculum objectives to enable it to be fitted neatly into teachers’ planning.

Working in small groups, children form their own racing teams to complete tasks carefully designed to develop their group-working skills. Even reluctant learners are engaged by the positive models of effective group-working drawn from the highly motivating real-life context of a Formula One^TM team and featuring exclusively licensed real-life video content from Grands Prix. Rewarding activities and exclusive behind-the-scenes content ensure that the engagement level never slips.

Race to Learn’s twelve half-day sessions can be used in any order, intensively over the course of a dedicated topic week or over an entire term, making it a flexible classroom resource. And at the end of their Race to Learn experience, teams can represent their schools in a nation-wide race for exciting prizes by choosing their favourite work to enter into the Williams F1 Fast Track competition.

In a demonstration of the successful teamwork that Race to Learn will inspire in pupils, Cambridge University Press and Williams F1 have each brought their own unique talents to this project. Cambridge has provided its expertise in educational content developed over 425 years of publishing, and Williams exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the world of Formula One^TM motor racing. Software development is by Cambridge-Hitachi, a joint venture between Cambridge University Press and Hitachi Software Engineering

John Tuttle, Managing Director of Cambridge University Press’s New Directions Group said, “Cambridge University Press seeks to be at the front of the grid when it comes to innovation in the educational publishing world. We are therefore well placed to partner Williams F1 in this important initiative. The world of Formula One provides a highly motivating environment for children to learn in key curriculum areas such as science, maths and literacy, as well as the group-working skills that are essential not only in the pit-lane but in the classroom, in the office and beyond.”

Frank Williams, Williams F1’s Team Principal said, “We are a prototype and technology business that is 100% reliant on human ingenuity and creativity. We not only recognise that we have a commercial prerogative to nurture this talent from an early age and sustain the UK’s pre-eminence in this area, but also a wider social obligation to foster engagement in the classroom from the youngest age. Our commitment to Race to Learn is a leading practical demonstration of Williams F1’s undertakings in the educational sphere.”

To find out more about Race to Learn, visit www.racetolearn.org  for a demonstration and footage from the launch events, or contact Alastair Horne, Innovations Manager, New Directions Group, Cambridge University Press, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8BS  Tel: 01223 325686 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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