A Dorchester school is on the road to success after engineering their way through challenges.

Panthers, a team of students from the Thomas Hardye School, took first place in the South West regional final of the Land Rover 4x4 in schools technology challenge.

Through winning, the school will compete at the UK final, held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon on Wednesday, March 22 and Thursday, March 23.

Students had to design and build a Land Rover-inspired miniature remote control 4x4 that tackled a rugged obstacle course at the event held at South Devon UTC.

Panthers were given high marks by the judges for their vehicle, not only taking first place, but also winning best track performance and best engineered vehicle awards.

The school boasted more winners, with teams Audad and Vortex coming in second and third respectively in the development class of the challenge.

Team manager of the Panthers, Barney Lines-Hembrey, said: “It’s our second time of going to the national finals.

“Last year we came fourth, so we’re really hoping to be champions this time. We didn’t have any issues with the scrutineering judging, so we were hopeful to win today and we’re very excited to be going to the nationals.”

The competition is split into three classes.

Entry class is an introduction to vehicle design, aesthetics and concept modelling, with a focus on showcasing a cool, futuristic 4x4.

The development class builds on the entry class, with manufacturing engineering and electronics incorporated into the vehicle development.

The professional class, for experienced participants, challenges the teams to use more complex engineering and electronics, including tilt sensors, drive train, suspension, steering and wheels.

Teams enter a vehicle into the regional final to compete for a place at the national final, with eventual winners invited to the world final.

Teams from The Sir John Colfox Academy in Bridport also picked up prizes, with Colfox Fibre winning entry class: pit display award and entry class: presentation award and Colfox Crazy Engineers winning the entry class: track stars.

Mark Wemyss-Holden, UK project manager of Land Rover 4x4 in schools, said: “This programme is all about inspiring the next generations of engineers with hands-on learning and the practical challenge of making a 4x4 and then testing its capabilities.“All the students produced great work and have shown a real understanding of engineering techniques and principles, as well as developing team work, presenting and communication skills.“All of these skills will be valuable in their future careers.”