Like every great film, a great story should begin with context…think the rolling pre-amble at the start of every Star Wars movie bringing you bang up to speed on the dastardly deeds of the evil empire.
And so it is with this story as well. This however is a story about a journey, a journey that hasn’t yet been completed and the protagonists have no idea how the final scene will play out. This is a story about 5 kids, 1 robot and a million dreams as we follow them on their journey from a small town centre school in Colchester, UK to Louisville, Kentucky, USA via Telford of all places. This then is the story of the North School Roboteers!
Let us just go back a bit…and I promise to keep this nice and short. North School has a Robotics Club that is part of the wider STEM programme and selects 5 or 6 children each year as they enter Year 6 to form this club. It is free, with costs covered by the school. This is why it is limited, I don’t know if you know this but robots can get a bit expensive! Anyway, we have this club and each year they compete with other schools in the local area for a chance to compete at the VexIQ National Championships. Guess what? We qualified! Fantastic for the children and kudos to the school. So off we all go to Telford…which is a medium-sized town with a huge convention centre somewhere west of Birmingham. 5 Kids, 1 robot, a couple of teachers and a slew of parents all off to enjoy the occasion. 2 days of intense competition, 8 judges, 6 skills tests, 6 team events and lots of fun ended with us packing up and trying to make a speedy exit to get ahead of the traffic on our 4 hour journey home. Only to be quietly but firmly ushered back to our seats by one of the organisers to watch teams compete in the team finals and collect their trophies. Only at the very end did we realise why we had been carefully reseated.
North Primary School…our small band of Roboteers had won the Excellence Award. That is the highest award presented in the VEX IQ Challenge. It recognises the team that exemplifies overall excellence in creating a high quality robotics program. It is a team that excelled in every area and was a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work and teamwork as well as all the technical elements required to impress the judges. This is a team that is committed to quality in everything that they do and was a strong contender in every award categories at the event.
And so we find ourselves here dear reader. Just over a month to go before our brave and bold team of Roboteers embark on the next stage of this epic journey. It’s off to the Vex World Championships. Representing our country, inspiring others and hopefully having some fun along the way!
North School Roboteers 