NSCG Newcastle College hosts annual FIRST® LEGO® League tournament
Students came from across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and West Yorkshire, to put their robotic skills to the test in the annual FIRST® LEGO® League Staffordshire regional tournament hosted by NSCG’s Newcastle College.
The College welcomed 16 teams from schools including, Christ Church Academy, Endon Hall Primary and Madeley Academy as they took part in this year’s challenge.
Every year, FIRST® LEGO® League releases a new challenge based on a real-world theme, with this year’s teams tasked in exploring how to use technology and the arts to help engage others. The teams presented their research, designs and accompanying information to a judging panel on the day of the tournament. Teams were also required to build and programme a robot which took part in a range of timed missions with scores awarded for project innovation, robot design and core values.
Megan Clayton, LEGO Coordinator at Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) said: “We were delighted to welcome and host so many fantastic teams to take part in this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League tournament. This is the College’s eighth year hosting the event and year-on-year we are blown away by the creativity, design and problem-solving techniques the teams come up with."
“The FIRST® programme is a great way to make a lasting impression and engage students with STEM and engineering design processes, as well as being incredibly fun, so we hope to see many teams return next year.”
The competition is designed to inspire students to pursue STEM-based careers as well as building important life skills and practical, hands on experience that they can use throughout their studies and in the future.
Team CyberBytes from Royal Grammar School Worcester were crowned this year’s Staffordshire regional tournament Champions and will now go on to represent the region in the UK National final in Harrogate this April.
2024 FIRST® LEGO® League Winners
- Coach/Mentor Winner – Mr Coulson from Christ Church Academy (Team Artech)
- Judges Perseverance Award Winner – Team Ctrl-Alt-Elite from Manor Croft Academy
- Judges Aspiring Award – Team The Darton Diamonds from Darton Academy
- Robot Performance Award – Team Abstract Circus StARs from ELFInspire NJB
- Core Values Award – Team Arty Axolotls from ELFInspire NJB
- Robot Design Award – Team C.A.T from ELFInspire NJB
- Innovation Project Award – MYZ Strong Sisters
- Champions Award – Team CyberBytes from Royal Grammar School Worcester
LEGO® Education Innovation Studio sessions are available at book at both Newcastle and Stafford sites for primary and secondary school students during term time. To book your group in, contact Megan Clayton e: megan.clayton@nscg.ac.uk or tel: 01782 254347
