A team of five lads from Endon High School in Staffordshire, calling themselves End-Tech, have just made history. They went on to win first place at their local Lego competition! This win will allow them to represent Staffordshire at the first Lego League UK National Final, set to take place later this year in Harrogate. It was their very collaborative spirit and creativity that changed the trend and ultimately put them atop fierce competition, including fellow T4M rivals from Bradford.
End-Tech’s win is their second consecutive win at this stage of the competition. The team dedicated significant time during and after school to code and build their robot, which features advanced colour sensors. These sensors were a crucial part of students’ strategies, allowing the robot to be more autonomous, and therefore easier to control and maintain through challenges.
Unlike past years, “we have an entirely new robot with color sensors this time,” team member Owen exclaimed. That’s all this upgrade, magnificent though it is, does to improve usability. This technology allowed these firms the opportunity to take the lead. Most importantly, it improved their ability to succeed in the different challenges the robot had to accomplish.
Malachi, another member of End-Tech, noted that there were different challenges to face in this year’s contest. Perhaps the most visible and most important change was the skill level of the competing teams. He commented, “This was End-Tech’s second win in a row at this stage,” emphasizing the significance of their achievement amid tougher competition. He added, “We’ve swapped to a new coding software that uses Python so it’s much more accurate than it used to be,” highlighting their commitment to improving their technical skills.
The energy of the day was electric, with James noting the tension in the air was “nail biting.” The fruits of the team’s impressive work ethic and commitment have more than paid off, making them a formidable contender as they now prepare for the national tournament.