Solihull Moors Football Club played host on Wednesday 20^th November 2024 to E.ON Next’s Kids In Motorsport day in partnership with E.ON Next Veloce Racing. 71 lucky primary-age schoolchildren from the Solihull area, were treated to an eye-opening array of activities centred around the world of energy, racing and football, all tied together by an exciting motorsport theme.

To see the video from the day, please vitis our YouTube channel here

After a warm welcome by SKY Kids FYI’s, Scarlett Archer and motorsport presenter, Amber Jones, the children all aged between 9 and 11-years-old and from Tudor Grange, Smiths Wood, and the Heights Primary Schools, headed out onto the Solihull Moors Football Club to be put through their paces with an invigorating warm up by Head Coach, Andy Whing.

Exhilarated and raring to go, the children then went back inside the SMFC clubhouse to take part in seven ‘skill stations’ which were all staffed by motorsport and STEM experts in their individual fields. These included:

• Sim Racing: The Year 5 and 6’s were given the chance to go head to head in Formula 1 races in full size racing simulators. The team from E.ON Next Veloce Racing were on hand to give guidance and help improve lap times. After this, they got to take on a full-size Batak machine which professional racing drivers use to test and enhance their reaction time.
• Experienced paramedic, Gerry Windett explained the crucial responsibilities of the medical team over a race weekend and then gave the children lessons in essential first aid including wound dressing and life-saving CPR.
• Next came media and presentation skills with Sky Kids FYI’s Scarlett Archer and motorsport presenter Amber Jones. These were focused on building confidence with public speaking as well as explaining the media’s role within the sports industry.
• Focusing on the more technical side of motorsport, the children went onto build, code and race LEGO model cars with specialist STEM experts Enovation Consulting. This was then followed by a graphic design challenge where the children designed their own E.ON Next Veloce Racing race car livery. The winning design will now be framed and signed by Veloce Driver, Kevin Hansen before being sent back to the lucky winner.

And that’s not all.. to add a further thrill to an already action-packed day, Solihull Moors Football Club’s 1st Team players Jamey Osborne (captain) and teammate Conor Wilkinson also dropped in to sign autographs for the delighted schoolchildren and staff. Conor and Jamey also held a Q&A to share with their eager audience, what it takes to be a high-performance athlete, and shared hints and tips about diet and exercise.

Miss Shields said: “It’s a huge privilege for the children to come to an event like this today to get them outside their normal learning environment. Showing the children how many roles are available in motorsport is huge for them as well as seeing how energy and sustainability play a role in the industry. They’ll be able to take a lot of these learnings home with them to use in everyday life.”  

Millie Betteridge, Future Leaders Degree Apprentice at E.ON, added: “It’s amazing to be part of an event aiming to inspire young people, celebrating STEM subjects and showing students how we can use them in jobs each day. At E.ON we are prioritising supporting young people’s development through events such as these, alongside our New Energy Academy programme which will focus on teaching students the importance of STEM subjects and the opportunities for young people and our communities in the UK taking a leading role in the energy transition.”

To find out more about the partnership between E.ON and E.ON Next Veloce Racing, visit eonenergy.com/eon-x-veloce.