Kinlochleven engineering aces secure UK finals spot in contest
STUDENTS from Kinlochleven have reached the finals of a UK-wide robotics engineering competition.
S1 pupils at Kinlochleven High School excelled in their challenge earlier this month and have secured a spot in the UK finals of the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge. The team were also the winners of the Speed Challenge, holding the record for the fastest ever EEP robot.
The challenge is a curriculum-linked programme that sees students (11- to 14-yearolds) working together in teams to solve real-world engineering, technology and computing challenges. More than 600 teams across the UK entered, learning how to build, program and control autonomous LEGO robots to complete a series of short, exciting missions, from speed racing to humanitarian aid, demonstrating their skills at competitions held around the country.
Budding engineer Ailsa Janzen said of the experience: ‘I was really nervous at first about going to the Glasgow West College for our round but when I got there all my nerves where gone. The day was really fun and went a lot better than I expected. We won two trophies, one for making the fastest robot which took 1.66 seconds to cover four metres and the other one was for being UK finalists. I was really delighted when we found out we could go to Birmingham for the UK finals and I am really looking forward to going.’
The final of the competition takes place on Friday March 16.
‘We are all so proud and excited for them,’ said Mrs Machin, head teacher of Kinlochleven High School.
‘This is an amazing achievement and an inspiring learning experience for them all, developing the engineering, technological and computing skills required in so many new and developing careers.
‘We can’t wait to see how they do in Birmingham and know how proud we will continue to be of them all.’