A Keighley school has steered a course to the national final of a maths challenge.

Parkwood Primary has beaten off competition from 1,000 schools across the country to reach the ultimate stage of the Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion Challenge.

It will do battle against other finalists in its category at the British Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, on Wednesday.

To reach the final, the Parkwood team had to negotiate a series of internal school races, regional heats and a semi-final knockout round.

The Cars Maths in Motion Challenge, the biggest of its kind in the UK, was established by Jaguar in 2000.

Pupils are tasked with setting up a virtual racing car to compete on a circuit against other schools. Teams have to use their mathematical expertise to accurately measure the length of the track and the angles of the bends and consider other factors such as fuel load, tyres and speeds.

The data is then entered into computer simulation software and all the challengers eventually race against each other.

Les Ratcliffe, for Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The Cars Maths in Motion Challenge demonstrates the importance and relevance of science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and we hope it will encourage youngsters to consider careers in engineering. We are delighted that the challenge is proving popular with schools and has attracted a huge number of entries again this year.”

Richard Ballantine, deputy head at Parkwood, said the school was delighted to reach the final.

He added: “We have participated in this initiative for a number of years and always presumed that reaching the Bradford final was a good achievement. However reaching the national final can only be described as outstanding!”

Parkwood team member Sarah McQuillan said: “I have enjoyed racing at school, because we urge each other on.

“I hated maths in class but this has helped my confidence and I now love it.”