Students Burning to Learn at Silverstone

10 June 2004

The Superbike World Championship round at Silverstone will be a most unusual classroom for 28 teenage students this weekend. The boys and girls from Buckingham, Croydon and Kent are coming to the Northamptonshire circuit to hone their numeracy, literacy and ICT skills. They are doing this with the help of two-wheeled motorsport, thanks to the initiative of Alan Dean and his organisation, Burning 2 Learn.

The students, including some special needs children, are from six different schools; local to Silverstone, 15 boys and girls from Year 10 of the Royal Latin Grammer School in Buckingham. From Kent and South London a further 13 pupils from the Beckmead School in Croydon, Bradbourne School, Sevenoaks, Dartford Grammer School, Kent Furness School, Hextable and Swanley Comprehensive will travel up for the weekend.

Thanks to the generous help of utility company ICW Power, Burning 2 Learn has the biggest trailer in the paddock, fully equipped with the latest computer equipment. The B2L Media Centre, as it is called this weekend, will be the hub for the students who have a comprehensive programme of interviews and visits. They will be writing reports and news stories having met the top riders, including championship leader James Toseland and Italian legend Pier Francesco Chili, who incidentally will be interviewed in Italian by one of the girls. Some of the students are being loaned cameras for the weekend and the best pictures will be entered in the FIM Photo Competition.

This competition is organised by the governing body of international motorcycle racing, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, in celebration of its centenary this year.

Alan came up with the idea of Burning 2 Learn (burning as in rubber) in 2000 after six years working in education. He realised that there were a lot of young students who lacked self esteem and motivation in their learning, who then gave up on education. Having worked in the construction industry, Alan realised that literacy and mathematics were ‘hidden’ in all areas of commercial life and could be interesting if presented in the right way. Also living close to Brands Hatch, Alan had an interest in motorsport and approached FGSPORT, the organiser of the SBK Superbike World Championship.

"I was surprised at how approachable everyone was in SBK, not only the organisers but the teams and riders as well,” said Alan. “Getting students to interview riders, write press releases and take photographs is fun for them and they don’t consciously realise that they are improving their literacy and other skills. When we analyse statistics related to the sport, they are in effect practicising maths. We have had some fantastic results doing this and it is very satisfying to see the students learn in this way"

See series calendar for SBK World Superbike Championship 2004

Related Story 29.03.2004 - Laconi Doubles at Monza