After months of planning and training, the members of the Langley Robotics club headed to The Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in Oxford to take part in the First Lego League regional final in January. Led by Mr Oakley, a group of around 15 students from a range of year groups were separated into two teams - the Langley Steampunks and Langley Master Builders. Our teams were then pitted against 30 teams from a number of other prestigious schools, including three teams who had come all the way from the Welsh border to compete! 

The competition is designed to provide students with the opportunity to research, design and create their own solutions to real world issues. The teams spent months prior to the competition thinking and approaching problems like real engineers in preparation for the tournaments, but they also showcased many other skills. These ranged from computer programming, research, teamwork, problem-solving, communication and, above all else, creativity. Our students displayed their innovation and resilience when faced with a number of challenges to overcome. These consisted of a design project, where each team had to redesign a building that faced struggles in its local community, explaining how they met the core values of the competition (innovation, problem-solving and teamwork), and competing in three rounds of a robot game using Lego Mindstorms tools and software. Overall, our teams did exceptionally well, with the Steampunks coming second overall in the robot challenge, and the Master Builders winning the innovative project award.

We spoke to Jodhviir Sekhon in 9V, the captain of the Langley Master Builders, and he was incredibly proud of his team and how far they had come, stating that they had surpassed all his expectations. He said that the competition was ‘fun, exciting and challenging for everyone involved, and we had a great time. The Langley Master Builders managed to bring home a trophy for the project, and the Langley Steampunks excelled on the board.’ He also told us that the competition was incredibly enjoyable and he was grateful that he had been given the opportunity to take part in such an exciting project.

Mr Oakley praised the team, who ‘worked exceedingly hard since getting the brief in September and put a lot of time in’. He is also looking forward to seeing who is going to take part next year, when we hope to see a repeat performance! Robotics Club will be open to new members from years 8-10 when it returns at the start of the summer term. It would be particularly good to see more girls joining, as teams were both made up of boys this year. The competition poses a great opportunity for all students to develop important transferable skills that they will be able to use later on in life, as well as gaining practical, first-hand experience. 

Congratulations to both teams on their achievements, as well as Mr Oakley, whose support, commitment and encouragement has proved invaluable to our teams’ success. We look forward to reporting on similar successes from the Langley Grammar Robotics Club in the near future.  

Reported by Matthew Spreadbury and Layla Rafiq – Members of the ‘Responsibility’ Editorial Team.