Outwood Grange Academy robotics club wins technical award

A school robotics club, the Robograngers, has won the 'Control Award' at the FIRST Tech Challenge Yorkshire regional competition. The team consisted of 10 students from Outwood Grange Academy, ranging from Years 8 to 10.

The FIRST Tech Challenge is run by FIRST UK (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Operating under the motto "More Than Robots", the charity's mission is to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive, and to empower young people to make informed choices about their future. Teams work alongside mentors to design, build, programme and operate robots capable of completing a series of tasks, both autonomously and under driver control, in a spirit of cooperation and good sportsmanship.

Each season brings an entirely new game, theme, and set of engineering challenges, which means teams must rethink and rebuild their approach from scratch every year. This year's challenge, 'DECODE', was inspired by archaeology, with robots having to collect and arrange artefacts on a game field to score points. Each match saw teams pairing up, joining forces in an "alliance" to compete against another pair.

The 'Control Award' recognises the team that demonstrates the most innovative and effective use of sensors and software to enhance their robot's performance and reliability. Winning the award reflects not just skill in building the robot, but in crafting the software that brings it to life.

Robograngers' project manager, Nathan S, said:

"It was a great experience to develop our STEM and communication skills. We learnt about our limits and were able to experience a true chance to learn."

David W added:

"We each found our place in the team."

The team meet weekly at an after-school club mentored by Leah Tomlinson, computer science teacher at Outwood Grange Academy, and Tom Crouch, assistant director of digital services at Outwood Grange Academies Trust.

Tom said:

"I'm delighted for the whole team. This year, they achieved their strongest result yet, and it showed in everything they did. The Control Award reflects what we saw throughout the day: a robot that performed reliably when it mattered, and a team that articulated their design to the judges brilliantly."