Girls on Track brings cross‑sector STEM inspiration to Wattisham
More than 150 girls from primary and secondary schools took part in a high‑energy two‑day Girls on Track programme at Wattisham Flying Station (19-20 May), delivered with Motorsport UK and led by innovative health and safety consultancy Safety Rocks.
The initiative forms part of wider efforts to tackle the UK’s engineering skills gap and the persistent under‑representation of women in STEM, where only one in six people working in engineering and technology are female, according to EngineeringUK¹.
Safety Rocks founder Carla Crocombe, whose company effectively steered the event, said the Wattisham programme built on earlier work with Lotus in 2025.
“Motorsport, aviation and defence coming together is exactly the cross‑sector piece I’m a massive fan of.”
Youngsters took part in drone flying, aircraft tours, aviation marshalling, coding, human performance testing with Gridshark, the Girls on Track pit stop challenge and STEM sessions with Red Bull Racing STEMx and aviation charter specialist Saxon Air.
The British Army Motorsports Association (BAMA), plus Lydia Walmsley and Alpha 7 Motorsport – both local to Wattisham – also supported activities.
Safety Rocks added its ‘Risk Rangers’ and ‘Hazard Hunters’ workshops, helping girls understand hazards and how risk is managed across high‑performance sectors.
Carla said the impact was unmistakable.
“I’ve never seen so many girls’ eyes light up – and teachers too!
“In just two days we made more of a difference than schools perhaps can in a whole academic year in terms of awareness of STEM careers. So many left excited about opportunities they simply didn’t know existed.”
The Safety Rocks name is becoming ever more present within UK motorsport’s highest levels, thanks to partnerships with the F4 British Championship and rising BTCC star James Dorlin.
¹ Research | How many women are working in engineering and technology in the UK?