A TOTAL of seven schools from the Test Valley area took part in heats of the Hampshire Solar Challenge at Thruxton Race Circuit to find the school to represent the area in the county's Hampshire finals.

The racing for the fastest car category was close with most cars covering the 20-metre track in speeds within seconds of each other.

The fastest time on the day came in at 16.54 seconds from Amport Primary School's Velocity 2.

In the final race-off, however, with slightly more overcast conditions, Shipton Bellinger Primary, with Shipton Ram, beat Amport to take the title of fastest solar powered race car.

The second category of the competition involved the youngsters creating, designing and building solar powered models of any description, using re-used or recycled material wherever possible.

Imaginations ran wild with solar models of planes, a flowerpot, a helicopter and an ark. The judges in this competition, the Mayor of Test Valley, Cllr Pam Mutton, and Andrew Baines representing the sponsors, Roke Manor Research, had a hard job but eventually decide on a winner.

They chose Shepherds Spring Junior school with a model called Titanic 95 which actually had a moving model of the Titanic hitting the glacier and sinking - all powered by a solar cell.