Tranby was abuzz with excitement last Friday as Arden Motorsport brought a real racing car to school, giving students from Preschool to Sixth Form the chance to get up close to the world of motorsport. Leon's peers in Y12 wrote the following article about the visit and Leon's journey so far!
On Friday 28th March, Leon Wilson - a Year 12 student at Tranby - displayed his F4 racing car to the school community alongside his Arden team. He delivered an assembly on his personal experience and his journey into the sport. Throughout the day, pupils in both the Senior and Prep School got the opportunity to meet the team and even experience what it’s like behind the wheel.
This inspirational story began two and a half years with a go-karting hobby, where he showed real potential. This led to him being scouted and later being put in contact with the team at Arden. He was invited for an assessment which he passed with flying colours and was then invited to train as part of the Arden Academy (an academy that has seen multiple F1 drivers progress, such as Oscar Piastri). Since then, he’s been competing on various tracks in the Uk, from Silverstone to Alton. Last April, Leon qualified to compete in F4, a level in which only four hundred drivers worldwide are able to reach. Those close to him outline the 21 races that Leon partakes in per season, with each event lasting four days. Leon races with his partner Ava Dobson (a sixteen-year-old from America).
When speaking with Leon’s father, we learnt that his family supports him at every step of his racing journey through their support at his events. This helps with the not only emotional, but physical strain that Leon is faced with as a competitive driver. Amongst this is the weight of his ultimate goal being to make it to F1, with his father mentioning his immense ability but the “huge amount of pressure” that comes with it. This season is of vital importance to Leon’s future in racing. However, family support and support from the Tranby community is helping to enhance his already strong resilience.
Despite Leon’s fearlessness behind the wheel, racing comes with undeniable risks. Nevertheless, neither he or his family are disheartened and as Leon’s father put best “if there aren’t any crashes, you aren’t going quick enough”.
Today really showcased the immense success that Leon has already achieved and the bright future that is ahead for him. Having the opportunity to share this success with his school community is incredible, not only for Leon and his family, but for the school too.
Leon is aspirational and the fact that he is living his dream, whilst juggling his studies and being a young adult is honourable, and showcases just what you can achieve with a lot of hard work. The main message that our Tranby students took away from the day was that you should always aim high and dream big, as nothing is out of reach if you are prepared to work hard for it, just like Leon does.
Leon embodies what it means to be a true Tranbian, and we cannot wait to see what he does next.
A huge thank you to Arden Motorsport for making this incredible experience possible, to BBC Radio Humberside for covering the event, and to Lydia of LP Photography for capturing the excitement of the day! Thanks also to everyone across the school who helped meticulously plan and organise the visit, we couldn’t have done it without you.