A group of talented Gateshead pupils are preparing to battle bots across the pond after winning a national STEM competition.
Wow! Just wow! Huge congratulations to everybody involved. This is the perfect opportunity to show the rest of the world what the North East of England is made of…
The five pupils from Wardley Primary, and the four pupils from Bill Quay Primary, will travel to Dallas, Texas, to compete in the VEX Robotics World Finals in May.
Houston, we do not have a problem!
Triumph after a tricky start
All nine superstars are between the ages of nine and 11 years old, which is even more impressive.
To take part in the National competition, which took place earlier this month, each team had to design, build, and programme their own robot before letting it loose in a series of games and challenges.
The Wardley team had a tricky start to the competition and had to swiftly deal with a series of mishaps, including another team dropping their robot on theirs and damaging a part of it! Ouch.
In fact, by lunchtime on the first day, the team was 18th out of the 20 schools competing… But did they let that stop them from persevering? Of course not!
They used the lunch break as time to refuel and clear their heads, going on to recode the robot and bring it back to life. Thanks to their efforts, they zoomed up from 18th place to 10th place by the end of the day.
Refusing to stop there, they used day two to push themselves even further and after a closely judged final, they finished in first place!
The start of something truly spectacular
Bill Quay, a fellow Gateshead school that also secured a top place in the competition, will also head to Texas for the World Finals next month. Amazing.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “Huge congratulations to the pupils and teachers from both Gateshead teams. The hard work, ingenuity, and teamwork has paid off in a big way, and they should be very proud of themselves.
“Get ready to show the world what Gateshead and the wider North East region is made of! We wish you every success in the final.”
VEX Robotics is an international programme that provides children with open-ended robotics challenges that enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills.
The Wardley team is made up of; Iona, Poppy, James, Leonidas, and Isla, along with support from teachers Mr Burfield and Mr Wildman.
The Bill Quay team is made up of; Francesca, Olivia, Oliver, and Lucy, with support from their teacher Mrs Dye.
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