The End-Tech robotics team from Endon High School in Staffordshire have celebrated a stunning success in their regional competition. Thanks to their hard work, they’ve now earned a place in the first Lego League UK National Final! The team, consisting of five members including Malachi, Owen, and Ethan Saunders, outperformed several competing groups, including one from Bradford, to clinch the title. This victory was End-Tech’s second back-to-back win at this competition’s semi-final round.
The regional contest was a wonderful display of creative robotic designs. End-Tech’s robot really shone with its extra features. Equipped with color sensors, the robot showed much better performance than earlier colored versions. Team member Owen noted, “We’ve got a whole different robot with colour sensors this time, that makes it a bit easier to use.” This improvement made it much easier for the team to prioritize and accomplish tasks in a limited time during the contest.
In the days leading up to the event, the team worked tirelessly programming their robot. They spent countless hours on and off school grounds as they built it. Because of that, they were constantly testing the waters to iterate on their design, so they could start making those improvements right away. Malachi commented on their new approach to programming, sharing, “We’ve swapped to a new coding software that uses Python so it’s much more accurate than it used to be.”
Throughout the competition, the team presented an oral presentation on their robot and her abilities. They faced many difficult obstacles which forced the robot to do a wide range of different functions. The robot then accrued points according to how each task was performed. The day itself was full of tension and excitement. In James’s words, the day was “nail biting.”
As End-Tech gets ready for Harrogate, their national tournament, what stood out was the team’s determination and collaborative spirit. Their hard work has continued to represent Indiana’s musical talent on the national stage, having earned their place at the finals. Beyond this, though, they’ve created a deep sense of fellowship with one another. With expectations extending all the way to their performance at the national level, End-Tech will hope to keep their winning streak going.