Visiting the campus once a week for three hours, the pupils were tasked with upcycling various materials in order to transform the car into arguably one of the most recognisable vehicles of our time. Spanning from August 2017 to June 2018, the main objective of the project was to inspire creativity and encourage teamwork amongst the youngsters. The fact that the team of 12 worked on the design and executed it to such a high standard is proof that this project was a success, and it is one the pupils found enjoyable too:

We have had a great time this year.

These sentiments are echoed by the staff at Kilpatrick School, with Albert saying

“This has been a brilliant project and the students have really enjoyed the experience.”

Jillian agrees that the project was a success, and goes on to say

“I was delighted to see the looks on the students’ faces as they inspected the finished vehicle.”

Reusing and repurposing materials is something the team at West College Scotland has lots of experience in, having previously run similar projects in the past. While a shark car and sandy the sea car are the norm for the team here, it is not every day that school pupils can say they recreated the Batmobile. With the next project announced as having a Star Wars theme, the team at West College Scotland looks forward to meeting a whole new group of pupils and taking them on a new journey of creativity and teamwork.

Whilst the majority of the work took place within the Motor Vehicle department, under the supervision of Jeff Cairns and Colin Stuart, other departments got involved by providing paint and additional materials. It truly was a unique experience and one which the College was happy to provide for all 12 pupils.  

The transformation of an old banger into a fully functioning piece of kinetic art is worth seeing.

Don’t just take Jeff Cairns’ word for it – take a look at the photos and see for yourself.