From design to execution, pupils proudly applied their STEM skills combined with critical thinking to work with a team, build a robot, and compete in an exciting, mission-based robotics game at the First Lego League Robotics Competition. With their knowledge from STEM club put into practice, they worked in two sets of teams to design and build robots, taking them to Preston to participate, showcasing the two contrasting robots to complete the challenges.

The programming teams worked closely with the building team to ensure they could program the tasks efficiently. The boys are scored on how many points the robot can complete in two and a half minutes. The building team did a great job of designing and putting together two robots ready to compete. Their dedication and hard work paid off when they returned with a trophy for the highest points scored in the Robotics and Programming Challenge, marking another milestone in their progress within the fields of STEM education.

Year 7 pupils. Ari , Zamir, and Seazar share their experience at the event:

In  March, our Robotics Team got the pleasure and privilege of going all the way to Preston for the First Lego League Robotics competition. It was quite a long journey, but both teams made the most of it. The competition consisted of three rounds where our most successful round would be considered and put into our final score. For both teams, our first run did not go so well. However, we learned from our mistakes and, in the end, one of the teams (Westminster 2) got the highest number of points in the entire competition.

We went there by train and knew that we could not waste any time. We got to work straight away, practising the script for the innovation project, and having to make a few changes and refine our PowerPoints. You may be wondering what our pitch was about: well, we had to think about an idea that solved a problem. This is called the innovation project, and it is a vital part of the competition, as points can be gained. One team focused on VR in music, and the other focused on architecture. We presented our innovation project to the judges and were asked various questions to find out how our team worked. Also, we had fun exploring the train station where we got to buy snacks. Unfortunately, we did not win the competition overall, but we did come back with a trophy for the highest points scored in the Robotics and Programming Challenge and some unforgettable experiences with our friends. We think that the main takeaway of this competition was learning from your mistakes, and more importantly having fun.

Both teams can be proud of their achievements and it’s great to see the boys’ skills improve year after year!