Wolverhampton students take home trophy at robot-building contest
Tech-savvy students at a Wolverhampton school took the winning trophy at a regional robot building competition at RAF Cosford.
Pupils from Aldersley High School competed against students from across the West Midlands in the First Tech Challenge regional tournament this month.
The contest sees youngsters team up to build a robot than can perform effectively in a series of challenges – they had from about four months to design and build the machine, with no help from staff or teachers.
Head of DT at Aldersley Nick Edwards said the pupils had done "so well" and would now be going on to the national finals in London next month.
He said: "It was an amazing opportunity for them. It develops their confidence, and helps them develop as individuals.
"It was the second time we had taken part and it was just amazing. They did it completely alone and competed all day long, they worked so hard."
The competition aims to make STEM less intimidating and more inclusive and also connects young people with the industry, providing new role models and teaching vital skills.
Mr Edwards added: "This is the second year we have won in a row but we didn't make it to the global finals last year as we lost points due to our fundraising.
"We asked the chief executive of our school for some money, but this year we are reaching out to local businesses and groups to try and get support, to try and do it ourselves."
The team is hoping to raise £3,000 in total this year to take them to the national leg of the competition in March. If they are successful they will go on to compete in America for the global finals.
Visit gofundme.com/f/hsjnhg-we-made-it-to-nationals-help-us-get-there to donate or read more.
