Bosworth Students Take on the FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge

The FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is a global robotics and STEM competition that inspires young people to explore science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) through hands-on learning. In the UK and Ireland, the competition is delivered by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and engages teams of students aged 9–16 in real-world problem-solving and robot design.

Each season centres around a specific theme set by the competition organisers. Teams spend weeks planning, building, and programming their autonomous LEGO robots to complete missions on a challenge field using LEGO Education robotics kits. In addition to the robot game, students research a topic related to the annual theme, develop a solution, and present their findings to judges. Throughout the process, participants are also evaluated on teamwork, creativity, and communication all – key FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge core values.

This year’s challenge was themed around archaeology, inviting teams to uncover hidden items and transport materials around the game area while their robots navigated a series of tasks.

Regional Competition: Oxford Brookes University

Bosworth entered a team of six Year 8 students into the regional heats, hosted in the Engineering Department at Oxford Brookes University. Over several months leading up to the event, the students worked collaboratively on every stage of the challenge:

• Designing and constructing their robot.
• Programming it using a scratch-based coding language to run autonomously during missions.
• Completing the essential engineering notebook to record their process.

At the event itself, the students demonstrated excellent teamwork and sportsmanship, working well with more experienced groups by sharing resources and ideas a core ethos of the FIRST community.

During the competition day, robots competed in autonomous runs lasting 2.5 minutes, aiming to complete as many tasks as possible. There were three rounds of the robot game, with 16 teams from schools across the region taking part.

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University Visit and Learning Beyond the Competition

Beyond the challenge tables, participating students enjoyed a tour of the engineering department and saw real research in action. Oxford Brookes’ involvement in areas like motor racing engineering and robotics provided an inspiring backdrop for the young competitors.

Reflection and Looking Forward Although this year’s team didn’t bring home a trophy, the experience was invaluable. Interacting with other teams, facing real technical challenges and presenting their work helped the students grow in confidence and skill. They’ve gained a clearer understanding of the competition and are already looking forward to returning next year even stronger.