End-Tech, an amazing team from Endon High School in Staffordshire, have won their place at the first ever Lego League UK National Final. They pulled off this remarkable double up by winning their regional contest for the second successive year! The team, composed of five dedicated members—Malachi, James, Owen, and two others—faced stiff competition from various groups, including one from Bradford. As Malachi observed, this year’s regional contest was particularly fierce.
Their team invested a lot of time into coding and building their robot, during school and after school. As they tested and competed, they developed these designs further, improving the robot’s ability to tackle the obstacles set before them by the judges. In Owen’s opinion, the team introduced new color sensors that made the robot’s operation much simpler.
“We’ve got a whole different robot with colour sensors this time, that makes it a bit easier to use,” – Owen
The robot was then tested in its ability to complete a pre-determined task chain. One of those tasks was giving a presentation on how it was built. James described contest day as “nail biting.” He stressed the remarkable pressure that the team was constantly under as they competed against other incredibly talented teams. Malachi, a first-time participant, expressed this same sentiment, commenting on how much more competitive the competition has become.
“Teams are better this year,” – Malachi
That’s two years in a row that this relatively young team has scored their second victory at this stage! They are now favourites to go on to become ambassadors for Staffordshire at the national tournament in Harrogate. Having the support of their school and community has been vital to their success. That sense of purpose motivates them to continue developing their skills and knowledge in the field of robotics.