Learning / robotics
Success for Redmaids’ High Junior School Robotics Club
This year’s FIRST Lego League is approaching its final competitions on Saturday 16 February and representing Bristol is a group of talented year five and six students from Redmaids’ High Junior School. They will go head to head with other finalists from across the UK and Ireland to compete in this science and technology challenge.
The theme is ‘Into Orbit’ and students have been challenged to explore an astronomical world whilst also solving real-life problems. Designing and construct complex kinetic LEGO structures, they programmed a robot using LEGO Mindstorms technology linked to an iPad.
“They’ve built all the different components themselves”, says leader of the junior robotics club Anthea Joyce, who is also teacher of Year 6 and Head of STEM at Redmaids’ High Junior School.
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The teams are required to run as many missions as possible in two and a half minutes. Missions have varying scores for difficulty – so the more successful missions within the timeframe yields the highest points.
The all-girl team from Redmaid’s School
Part of the team’s success to date is no doubt due to their open-minded approach to teamwork, with every pupil in the robotics club contributing their unique talents to the team. “We have people who understand LEGO and can put it together and visualise it, people to do the programming, people with a steady hand to set it going. It’s a real team game”, says Anthea.
As one pupil put it, “we all bring our different strengths and we put them together to solve the problems. We do it as one team”.
Another aspect of the competition is that each team must complete a project that relates to an Earth-based problem. Choosing the medical condition of osteoporosis as their project, the students researched this real-world problem and have found innovative ways to resolve it in their imagined space-world. They have prototyped a new spacesuit which eases the condition. “It’s designed to strengthen their back muscles”, one student said. The team will deliver a presentation of their ideas at Saturday’s final competition.
Anthea highlighted how FIRST LEGO League gives an opportunity for girls to be represented in STEM disciplines. The junior robotics club – who call themselves #GirlsCan – are “flying the flag for girls again” says Anthea, who took a team to the national competition three years ago wherein Redmaids’ High Junior School were one of four all-girl teams.
Looking forward to competition day, the students and their teacher described their enjoyment of the competition atmosphere. The likes of dimming lights following a booming audio countdown and nearing thirty spot-lit game tables in simultaneous play sounded particularly exciting.
“The competition is very fierce”, says Anthea, but “we are going to go and have a really good experience with no expectations, because the level of robotics here is phenomenal, and it’s going to be brilliant for the girls to see want they can do”.
The team representing the school on Saturday
Read more: Drones, bomb detection robots and Bristol’s engineers of tomorrow
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