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Winners of the FIRST® LEGO® League UK champions crowned

Published: Tue 6 Jul 2021

A team of young engineers from Scotland have been crowned champions of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) FIRST® LEGO® League UK and Ireland competition.

The winning team were the STEM Troopers from McLaren High School, who were not only Champion team, but also won the Robot Game Knockout Round Award and the Robot Performance Award!

This season’s competition, called RePLAY℠, was all about exploring how people can become more active in their local communities, and the science and technology challenge, which is aimed at 9-16-year-olds, tasked teams to design a solution to getting people more active.  

The winning team’s solution to the challenge was the Side Glow Wired Hi-Vis Jacket and they impressed the judges with their mission strategy, good market research, and exemplary teamwork.

The runners-up were Wallace High School in Belfast. Both STEM Troopers and Wallace High School have been invited to represent the UK and Ireland at the Asia Pacific Open Championship 2021 being held remotely in Australia later this month.

Lucy Owen, IET FIRST® LEGO® League Education Manager, said: “FIRST® LEGO® League allows young people to experience engineering in action. As well as bringing excitement to STEM subjects, the students get hands-on experience with robotics and designing innovative solutions to real-world problems. Developing computer programming, teamwork, problem-solving, and communications skills has never been so much fun and gives students an insight into the creative and innovative careers that engineering presents.

“There is a great need for young people with STEM skills to fill the next generation of engineering roles and we are excited to see such bright young engineering minds in FIRST® LEGO® League.”

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this year’s final took place via a live stream on YouTube on Friday 2 July which is available to watch on-demand.

Other prizes awarded at the final included:

  • Breakthrough Award: Active 8 from St Benet's RC Primary School
  • Motivate Award: St Peter’s
  • Rising All-Star Award: Robostein from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
  • Outstanding Robot Performance Award: HuLLK Robotics from KLH
  • Engineering Excellence Award: Dynamite from Calthorpe Park School
  • 1st Place Core Values Award: Manor Primary Team Machine from Manor Primary
  • 1st Place Project Award: Technic Titans from Oatlands Lodge
  • 1st Place Robot Design Award: Orchard Mead Academy

The IET is proud to be the FIRST® LEGO® League’s UK and Ireland operational partner. Supporting the competition is part of the IET’s commitment to show young people the benefits of careers within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

For more information about this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League competition, please visit FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge (9-16) - IET Education (theiet.org)

 

-ENDS-

 

Notes to Editor

About the IET

  • We inspire, inform and influence the global engineering community to engineer a better world.
  • We are a diverse home for engineering and technology intelligence throughout the world. This breadth and depth means we are uniquely placed to help the sector progress society.
  • We want to build the profile of engineering and technology to change outdated perceptions and tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
  • Interview opportunities are available with our spokespeople from a range of engineering and technology disciplines including cyber-security, energy, engineering skills, innovation, manufacturing, technology, transport and diversity in engineering.
  • For more information, visit www.theiet.org
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Media enquiries to

Sophie Lockhart
Senior Communications Executive
E: slockhart@theiet.org

Hannah Kellett
External Communications Manager
E: hkellett@theiet.org