Silverstone UTC secures £1m pledge from Formula 1 team owner's foundation for new engineering centre
Silverstone UTC has secured a $1 million (£735,000) pledge from the Gene Haas Foundation to help create a new advanced manufacturing centre aimed at training the next generation of engineers.
The announcement was made at the school during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix weekend and will fund a major upgrade of its engineering facilities.
The investment from the charitable foundation established by American entrepreneur Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation and owner of the Haas Formula 1 team, will create the Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.
The funding forms part of Silverstone UTC's £1.25 million "Engineering the Future" project, which will modernise workshops with industry-standard five-axis CNC machines, milling equipment, lathes, metrology equipment and a professional computer-aided design (CAD) suite.
The new centre will give students aged 14 to 19 access to the same technology used by Formula 1 teams and advanced manufacturing companies across Motorsport Valley. It will also allow the UTC to expand its work beyond its own students by supporting apprenticeships, school visits, teacher training and community outreach.
The project was supported by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which helped secure the funding through its relationship with the Gene Haas Foundation.
Kathy Looman, executive director of the Gene Haas Foundation, said the project marked "an exciting next step" in its partnership with university technical colleges.
She said: "For years, I have been witnessing the impact and joy of young engineers and technologists as they learn to design and create with the latest technology.
"This project is an exciting next step. I look forward to the future with the joint goals of providing hope and opportunity to this and future generations."
Angela Murphy, principal of Silverstone UTC, said the new centre would give students access to industry-standard equipment and create new career opportunities.
She said: "Our students are extraordinary, and they deserve facilities that match their ambition.
"It means a young person from Northampton or Milton Keynes can learn precision engineering on the same kind of equipment used in F1, and even more of our students will leave us ready to step straight into a career that will change their life."
Ben Ward, chair of trustees at Silverstone UTC, described the investment as a "landmark moment" for the school and said it represented a major endorsement of its engineering education.
The Gene Haas Foundation's pledge takes the Engineering the Future campaign to within £400,000 of its first fundraising target, with the UTC now appealing for further support from businesses, charitable trusts and the wider motorsport and engineering industries to complete the project.