Forfar’s Robotics Challenge Showcases Innovation and Creativity

When life gives you bricks, build a robot!

Pupils from schools across the Forfar Education group came together recently to take part in the Forfar Robotics Challenge, an inter-schools competition designed to inspire the very best in STEAM learning.  This hands-on competition, which was part of National Engineering Week, emphasized the importance of STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. 

Armed with a Lego kit that contained a whole host of components designed for building and programming robotic models, teams of up to 4 girls and boys from each Forfar school across England set about making their creations during engineering week.  The aim was to build a robot that could move and think, using as many pieces as possible.  

Incorporating motors, sensors, gears, axles and of course, Lego bricks, the children, who were all in year groups 3 to 6, excitedly set about designing and building  their robots – with hilarious results!  Up at Prenton Prep on the Wirral, ‘Beanz’ the robot was coded to deliver bricks, while robot ‘Jeremy’ down at Springmead in Somerset picked up objects and dropped them off at a designated location.  Every school submitted at least one entry depending on the age of the pupils, giving Mrs. Jo Storey, Forfar’s Director of Education a difficult task in judging each one!

Mrs. Storey shared, “We designed this competition with four main aims; to promote the importance of STEAM education, to develop pupils’ 21^st century skills, to encourage collaborative partnerships between our schools and finally, inspire future pathways in STEAM.  The outcome of the competition clearly demonstrated the children’s enthusiasm for robotics, as each robot they built reflected both their engagement and enjoyment.  Not only did the competition promote collaboration across each of the Forfar schools, but it encouraged pupil teamwork, creativity and practical problem solving, which are all crucial skills for future careers.”

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