STUDENTS WIN PRESTIGIOUS UK ROBOTICS CHALLENGE
The winners of Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge have been crowned at The Big Bang Fair 2018 at the NEC in Birmingham. The winning team from McLaren High School, Callander competed against hundreds of other students across the country to vie for the top prize.
The school’s team made up of students Matthew Murray, Cameron Harvey, Andrew Twigg and Bruce McKechnie learnt how to build, program and control autonomous LEGO robots to complete a series of short, exciting aviation themed missions
The Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge introduces student teams to real-world engineering, technology, robotics and computing challenges. The challenge aims to help students put their school learning into context and discover exciting new careers. Each of the teams taking part received free LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) resources.
The winning students competed against groups of students from 25 different regions from across the country. Students also have to research, design and present their own solution to a contemporary engineering problem faced by STEM professionals in the aviation industry.
The students were able to demonstrate the skills they’d learned at The Big Bang Fair, with the winner announced on the penultimate day of The Fair.
The Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge is led by EngineeringUK and Helsington Foundation in partnership with the Royal Air Force and Rolls-Royce. Research from EngineeringUK shows that communicating engineering careers to young people is vital for the future of the British economy.
EngineeringUK’s Chief Executive, Mark Titterington, said: “In order to meet the country’s demand for 124,000 engineers each year we need to inspire more young people to consider a career in the industry.
“Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge aims to help young people from all backgrounds understand the variety, excitement and opportunity presented by a career in engineering.”
The other prizes were awarded as follows:
| Prize | School Name |
| WINNER | McLaren High School |
| Highly Commended / Speed Challenge Award | Wallace Hall Academy |
| Highly Commended | Thomas Telford |
| Robot Challenge Award | Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun |
| Highly Commended | Joseph Whitaker School |
| RAF 100 Award | Kingussie High School |
| Reece Foundation Award | Ashton Community Science College |
| Helsington Foundation Award | Reading Girls' School |
| Airbus Award | St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School |
| Teamwork Challenge | Beacon Academy |
| Rolls-Royce Award | Howard Of Effingham School |
| Robot Design | The Market Weighton School |
| Project Presentation | Kesgrave High School |
