 MDUK was headquartered at Silverstone.The Learning Grid began in 2005 as a recommendation of the Motorsport Competitiveness Panel, a body set up by the UK Department of Trade and Industry whose final report was announced by the then Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt on 11 July 2003.The name 'Learning Grid' was thought to refer to a motorsport starting grid, since many of the activities had a motorsport theme, although another derivation could be the representation of activities on a map or grid showing the age group on the X axis and level of time commitment required on the Y axis.