February 28 2025 | Kent & Medway | Views: 343
FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is a global competition for young people aged 9 to 16, organised in the UK by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
The FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge tournament, hosted by Canterbury Christ Church University, took place on Friday 28 February. An impressive forteen teams of students, aged 9 to 16, from schools and community groups across the South East, competed in the SUBMERGED℠ challenge, all vying for the prestigious title of Kent Regional Champions, and a place at the UK/Ireland nation final.
The event was supported by around twenty STEM Ambassadors who served as referees and judges. They ensured teams followed the rulebook, coding their robots to complete the infamous practical mat challenges on time and judged the innovative solutions to an underwater problem the teams were challenged to solve. Beyond the competition, the Ambassadors encouraged students to embrace inclusivity, creativity, and confidence in this celebrated annual challenge and without their incredible support, this event would not be possible.
This year’s theme, SUBMERGED℠, challenges students to explore the mysteries and complexities of the underwater world, including ocean exploration, marine conservation, underwater technology and aquatic ecosystems. It encourages them to think about how robotics and engineering can aid in exploring and protecting the oceans while solving real-world problems, which they had to incorporate into their Innovation Project presentations on the day.
As an extra challenge, The STEM Hub tasked all participating teams with designing and building their own LEGO® creation linked to the SUBMERGED℠ theme during breaks from competing. Canterbury Christ Church Universoty Student Ambassadors were on hand to judge and present an award for the most innovative build.
Once again, the results were extremely close, and the title of Kent Regional Tournament Champions was awarded to The Lord of the Bricks, a community based group. The team received their champions trophy will now represent Kent at the FIRST® LEGO® League SUBMERGED UK National Final in Harrogate later this year.
There were also accolades for:
We thank this year’s participating schools and their teachers and congratulate all on their fantastic achievements: Battle Abbey School, Kemsing Primary School, Kent College, Langley Park Schools, Rochester Grammar School, Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar, Somerhill, St David's Prep, The Lord of the Bricks (Out of school Team), The Ravensbourne School, Trinity Sevenoaks, Weald of Kent Grammar School
