Staffordshire young roboticists to compete on national and global stages

​​​​Circuit Breakers Vol. 4 from St John Fisher Catholic College took home the Inspire Award, which is given to the strongest team across a number of aspects including engineering, problem-solving and community outreach. The event’s industry judges described them as “truly inspiring”. “They are creating a strong legacy for the meaning of More Than Robots and one we can all learn from,” they added.

The team left the event already preparing for the UK Championship with plenty of ideas to make them stand out from the UK’s very best. The UK Championship will be held at the London Copper Box Arena on 26-27 June.

“This is so unexpected. We all joked about going from Stoke to London to the Netherlands, and now we’re actually doing it,” shared Daisy-Mae, the team’s outreach lead.

“We’re so proud to represent Stoke on the national stage. This is such an achievement for us,” shared Maya, the team’s outreach coordinator.

FIRST Tech Challenge UK is part of the global FIRST movement, established in 1989 which reaches 650,000 young people worldwide each year. This year’s game, INTO THE DEEP, presented by RTX, challenges teams to design, build and code robots for a water-themed game. During two-and-a-half-minute matches, teams navigate their robots through complex tasks, combining autonomous and driver-controlled operation. 

FIRST Tech Challenge UK empowers young people aged 12-18 with the technical knowledge and soft skills to thrive in STEM and beyond. From September to March, working like teams in industry and often supported by a mentor, they design, build and program a robot to compete at progressive events. Teams hone new skills such as communication, teamwork, programming, project management, fundraising, design and engineering.