A robotics team from a very special comprehensive school in south London has created history! Most importantly, though, they’ve successfully qualified for the First Global Challenge, an exhilarating, “Olympics-style,” international robotics competition. This year the event will be in beautiful Panama City, Florida. The team will continue to proudly represent Great Britain as the first full secondary school to complete this honor.
The team, which includes students Adrian, Kieran, and Teddy, has been working hard to get ready for this historic event. Our inaugural First Global Challenge brings together participants from 190 countries and this year’s focus is building sustainable food networks. The students can hardly contain their excitement to finally reveal their robot, lovingly called “Steve.” They are particularly excited to work with and learn from their peers across the world!
Matt Fry, a committed Maths teacher, set up the robotics club two years ago. Since then, he’s been instrumental in steering the team towards their remarkable accomplishment. His determination to nurture their talents has been the real secret to their success. Fry stressed that the competition goes far beyond robot-building. Leadership and project management are key components, too.
“Mr. Fry is like a god in our eyes, he’s just taken this programme, given it to us and look where we are now – we’re going to Panama,” – Kieran
Adrian praised the incredible strides they’ve taken.
“In two years, we’ve come so far. None of us thought when we started that we would become the UK champions and represent our country in a global competition,” – Adrian
Kieran was on the same wavelength, and he was particularly excited about some of the people they would meet through the tournament.
“None of us knew much about the competition, but after that we bounced back and just put everything into it – and then we did really well,” – Kieran
His belief in the team’s potential is strong as they hone their skills for the battles to come. While competing at the highest level, the students hope to learn from other teams competing in the friendly competition.
Fry expressed his pride in the students’ growth, stating, “I love them to be making decisions,” emphasizing the importance of leadership within their project.
As the competition approaches, the team remains focused on their goals and the invaluable experience that awaits them in Panama City. Thanks in no small part to their hard work and dedication, victory has already been achieved! They are incredibly proud to wear their school and country’s colors on the world’s sport’s biggest stage.
“Without him, none of this would have ever happened. We can only say ‘thank you’,” – Kieran