St Mary’s pupils rise to robotics challenge

The robots were ready when budding engineers from St Mary’s Catholic Primary in Forest Hall showcased their talents at an international FIRST LEGO League event.

The ten Year 5 and 6 pupils had been honing their skills at the school’s LEGO League Club ahead of the competition, which was organised by Education North Tyneside and Northumberland ICT and eLearning, and supported by SAGE.

“The children have been part of the LEGO League Club in school since September,” said Year 5 Teacher Tom Johnson. “They have attended the session after school each week, working on their project and robot.

“Each team had to create a presentation about how technology can be used to support archaeologists. This was presented to a group of judges.

“They also had to programme a robot to complete a series of LEGO challenges, such as lifting, carrying, and moving different models across a game board.”

Designed to provide hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) experience for children and young people aged four to 16, FIRST LEGO League features three divisions of themed challenges, with events open to pupils all over the world

“There were 20 schools from across North Tyneside, Newcastle, and Northumberland who attended the event, and they were joined by a school from Ghana who had travelled over for the event,” continued Mr Johnson.

“St Mary’s has taken part about ten times. This was the first time for this group of pupils, and the Year 5 pupils are looking forward to taking part again next year.”

Other BBCET primary schools participating included St Columba’s, St Joseph’s, and St Stephen’s, while the event was won by Longbenton High School, who secured a place to represent North Tyneside in the national finals.

“It’s a chance to try something different – robotics programming – and to think about real-world problems,” added Mr Johnson. “It’s also a chance to meet with other schools and see what they have been working on as part of a shared theme.

“It’s a really great event, with a fantastic buzz and excitement about it.”