Our LEGO League team win!
On Friday 12 January ‘Razor Sharp Minds’, a team of Year 6 pupils, participated in the First LEGO League Regional tournament at Gatwick Airport. First LEGO League challenges children in developing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills, which challenges children to think like scientists and engineers. The theme this year was HYDRO DYNAMICS and the team had to produce a research project which solved a real-world problem by identifying and improving a way in which people find, transport, use, or dispose of water.
The team also built, tested, and programmed an autonomous robot using a LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robot, named Tank, to solve missions in the Robot Game. Throughout this experience the team worked enthusiastically under the First LEGO League signature set of Core Values, celebrating discovery, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism®. The pupils recognise that both friendly competition and mutual gain are possible on and off the playing field; that taking part and learning is more important than winning.
During the day Razor Sharp Minds performed fantastically, demonstrating their knowledge, ability, dedication and hard work within each of the judged categories. The pupils exhibited super teamwork, comprehensive technical understanding, accurate and ‘cool as a cucumber’ piloting of their robot and an understanding of how their rainwater harvesting and grey water tanks can reduce the consumption of precious, expensive water – which requires a great deal of energy to deliver fresh to our taps.
The team, and Tank, performed precisely on the table; successfully scoring more points than their competitors and were named the Robot Game winners and as a result were presented with the Robot Game Award. Razor Sharp Minds were then named the overall winners and presented with the Champions Award, with the compliment of being told that they had scored in the top three teams within each discipline. The children were ecstatic, they ‘jumped for joy’, hugged/high fived each other and smiled from ear to ear! It is worth mentioning that several of the teams participating were from Secondary Schools, emphasising the accomplishment. The two pieces of ‘plasticware’, trophies obviously made of Lego, were proudly held aloft.
Razor Sharp Minds team are:
Rayhan A, Hannah B, Thomas C, Luke F, Thomas H, Edward H, Alexander H, Peter R, Orlaith S, Olivia W and Annis-Clara W.
Huge congratulations to all of the pupils who represented the school so wonderfully, the judges were extremely complimentary, not just about their performance but also about their politeness, endless enthusiasm and contagious AWESOMENESS!
I am very proud of the children; their teamwork has been formidable, their ideas, solutions, enthusiasm and embracing of technology has been excellent throughout. Razor Sharp Minds have now qualified for the National Final in Bristol on Saturday 24 February. Their journey continues and they will be attempting to make improvements in every area to perform to their potential at the UK Final.
I would like to thank the parents for their support; allowing the pupils to prepare every week in our club and also at the Saturday workshop. I would also like to thank Mrs Clark for passionately supporting the Lego League team, Mr Culverwell for taking the time to visit the competition and Mr King for assisting at the club each week and getting up to speed with the program so enthusiastically.
If you would like to know more about First Lego League please visit the websites for more information – http://www.firstlegoleague.org / https://firstlegoleague.theiet.org or see our splendid Lego Robotics Suite in Cedar House.
Simon Williams
Photographs courtesy of Hannah Brackenbury – https://hannahbrackenbury.co.uk/
