Priory's young engineers attend robotics regional finals

Pupils from Priory’s Lego Club were invited to attend BAE Systems on Wednesday after they had reached the regional finals of the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge.  

 

Mr Sneddon and Mr Hunter, who run The Lego Club every Tuesday lunchtime, worked with pupils on their entry and as the competition neared, its keenest members continued to attend after school on a Thursday.

 

Pupils - Rhianne Leach, Connor Speirs, Zack Lamb, Liam Cooley and Ethan Taylor - worked on a challenge which was put together by Tomorrow’s Engineers, in partnership with BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and the RAF to name but a few. 

 

The team had to build a Lego robot programmed to go as fast as possible over a 4 metre long track. The team placed third with a time of 2.86 seconds on the day losing out by just one hundredth of a second to first place. 

 

Pupils then showcased their robot’s skills on the challenge mat where they were tasked to collect two engines; open a barrier; retrieve an aeroplane; close the barrier and collect humanitarian aid, finally taking on a ramp set at a 50 degree incline. Unfortunately the team had a few issues after the robot fell off the table in practice, ultimately rendering some of the challenges impossible in the short time they were given. 

 

Mr Sneddon, who accampanied the pupils said, “The panel of BAE engineers were really enthused by the pupils’ project presentation and particularly the video which Rhianne had worked hard on. The team fielded the questions thrown at them in a calm and collected thorough way - the judges were very impressed.”

 

The robot design session proved to be an excellent team display and was judged to be the best on the day.  Mr Sneddon commented, “The pupils described how they had built the robot and any problems they had to overcome in order for it to work.”

 

The team came away from the day with a ‘Best in Robot Design’. Rhianne Leach was singled out for her performance and contribution to the whole day, and received a goody bag. 

 

There were engineers from several high profile organisations supporting activities during the day and pupils were encouraged to find out what they do.

 

Mr Sneddon ended by saying, “Although the team may not have won overall, they gained skills in presenting, public speaking and problem solving which will stand them in good stead in the future. All the team should be very proud of what they have achieved.”