A TEAM of bright school children has become the first to complete an epic 3,000km race in a car powered entirely by the sun.

The students from Ardingly College built their solar powered vehicle from scratch and became the first school to complete the World Solar Challenge.

The challenge took them thousands of kilometres through Australia’s arid outback known as the Red Centre from Darwin on the northern coast to Adelaide in the south.

Matt Price, 18, one of the race team, said “It is a bit less cloudy than Sussex.

"Over three year it has been tough. There have been downs but finishing the race is the biggest up we could have had”.

His teammate James Price, also 18, said: “We have made it. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all involved.”

Other team members were mechanic manger Holly Hill, 17, from Houston Texas, along with Sussex lads Luke Smith, 18, and Henry Hinder, 18.

Mr Hinder said: “It was a great experience; everyone was clapping as we went past.”

During race the teams faced challenges such as being stopped by police for taking a wrong turn and a problem with the steering almost ended with a crash and disaster.

They set off on October 18 and finished the road trip on Friday.

They were competing against universities and engineering firms.

Over the past three years the teams have had to balance doing their GCSEs, A Levels, and International Baccalaureate while working round the clock to build their solar car.

The modified Lotus 7 chassis was fitted with a custom-built composite shell and 24% efficient Silicon Photovoltaic solar panels.

It needed to comply with 366 regulations, or risk exclusion from the world’s ultimate solar marathon.

The Ardingly Solar project received more than £100,000 worth of financial and practical support from industry and sponsors.

These include DHL, McLaren, GTR, Time24, Elekta, NTCadcam and Lincoln Binns, who’s chief executive John Binns has been the team’s mentor in industry.

Dr Andrew Spiers, Ardingly’s head of science and project supervisor, said: “The three year task transported industry into the classroom, helped pupils recognise the imperatives of sustainable transport, understand the importance of green technologies, learn above and beyond the curriculum, acquire new skills in business, design and manufacture and, above all, it has empowered students to make a difference.”

The race was won by a team from Delft University in the Netherlands.

In second place was a team from the University of Twente, also from the Netherlands, while Japan's Tokai University came in third.

The World Solar Challenge is aimed at promoting research of solar-powered cars.