Students from Year 5 – 11 are gearing up for three exciting First LEGO League robotics competitions, with teams across multiple year levels preparing to showcase their skills in design, coding, and innovation.
The First LEGO League introduces science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children aged 4 – 16 through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Students have been preparing for the competition throughout the year under the guidance of Mr Justin Pembroke, Head of Digital Innovation.
“These competitions allow our students to apply their learning in a real-world setting. It’s not just about building robots, but developing essential skills in problem-solving, collaboration and leadership.”
This weekend, 26 – 27 October, ten Year 7 – 9 students will compete and present their project prototypes on ocean exploration. The competition also requires students to program autonomous robots capable of solving various game board challenges, which has introduced many students to Python coding.
The senior team of four Year 11 students will participate in the First Tech Challenge on 2 November and will present a large metal robot they have constructed and programmed to compete in a range of tasks. This competition allows students to build on their STEM skills with advanced robotics and technical design. This competition raises the stakes, pushing students to design, build, and program larger, more advanced robots, requiring them to dig deep into their STEM knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
Fifteen Year 5 – 6 students are also competing in the First LEGO League competition and will take on the challenge on 16 November. The students have also been researching innovative ways to support ocean exploration and have prepared robots to take on a series of challenges, all while upholding the competition’s values of teamwork, inclusion, and discovery.
Mr Pembroke, who has overseen the teams’ preparation, emphasised the importance of these competitions in fostering creativity and resilience in students.
“They’ve risen to the challenge and I’m incredibly proud of the hard work they’ve put in.” The upcoming competitions are a stepping stone to further LEGO League challenges and we are excited to witness our students showcase their innovative skills in design and coding.