Harry’s hover car wins classmates once-in-a-lifetime training session and meeting with Rugby World Cup star
The artistic skills of eight-year-old Harry Howells won him and his Swansea classmates a once-in-a-lifetime training session with some of Welsh Rugby Union’s coaches – along with the opportunity to meet World Cup star Jake Ball.
Harry’s innovative design of a car of the future, with the ability to hover over water, fly and travel on a monorail, was judged the best in a competition run by Sinclair Group, Wales’ biggest car retailer.
The company invited schoolchildren across Wales to think how a vehicle might look in 2085, 70 years from now, as part of its own 70th anniversary celebrations marking its founding in 1945.
Harry’s drawing, complete with supporting sketches to show a raft of innovative features, came out on top from hundreds of entries.
That was good news for his 25 Year-4 and Year-5 classmates at St Thomas Community Primary School who were treated to a training session with a selection of Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) community coaches at the National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort, near Cardiff.
Andrew Burns, Deputy Head Teacher, said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed their day, seeing the facilities, experiencing the coaching and meeting lock forward Jake Ball.
“They each came away with a mini-rugby ball signed by Jake, which is something they will all treasure. They are a class of children who are real rugby enthusiasts and this has inspired them to focus on their favourite sport.”
Along with the trip to the WRU centre, Harry was presented with a framed re-creation of his design by Sinclair Group chairman Gerald Sinclair.
Another copy will form the centrepiece of a commemorative display in the Group’s Port Talbot showroom, one of 20 dealerships across South Wales with franchises for Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Skoda, SEAT and Smart, while a third will be on show at the school.
An entry from Evie Morgan, aged ten, from St Clare’s School, Porthcawl, whose futuristic car would run off recycled food waste, was highly commended. Her prize included a framed WRU shirt signed by the Wales squad as well as a framed copy of her design.
Gerald said: “Everyone who entered showed great imagination and this was a fantastic way to help us celebrate 70 years of Sinclair Group.
“The quality of the entries was very high and so we have decided to send all the schools that took part a signed rugby ball as a small appreciation gift for their hard work.”