On Wednesday 10th May, 5 students from UTC South Durham attended a VEX robotics competition at UTC Silverstone. Y10 students, Sam Dixon, Lee Reynoldson, Steven Lowe, John Anderson and Thomas Shepherd, dedicated several months to creating a robot that would be capable of completing the various tasks efficiently.
The idea of entering the competition was initiated by the students themselves. They made a proposal to the Principal of UTC South Durham, Tom Dower, and from this the school bought the kits so that the process could begin.
It took a lot of consideration and creativity to build the robot. They had to consider, size, weight and the wiring and design of the robot itself. The experience also provided a valuable opportunity to develop their team working skills; they divided the jobs that needed to be completed between themselves, meaning they were match-fit and fully prepared for the competition.
Lee Reynoldson, Team Leader, said ‘We organised ourselves like real engineers; everyone had a specific and important role.’ As the competition loomed, the students became more dedicated. They spent as much time on it as they possibly could, even if this meant staying back after school and coming in during weekends.
Mike Reid, Engineering Teacher at the UTC, said, ‘Each student has put in around 70 hours of work since March; they really have worked tirelessly.’ The team travelled to Silverstone on Tuesday and stayed in a hotel room overnight. They spent their night making sure they were as prepared as they possibly could be. When the competition finally arrived, the UTC South Durham robot had to complete a number of tasks against other UTC robots from around the country.
Upon reaching the semi-final, UTC South Durham’s robot, Ernie, won by 1 point, the score being 27- 26. Despite nerve-wracking, last minute breakdowns and late repairs, this success continued against all odds into the final and they finished in a fantastic second place out of all the participating UTCs. Mike Reid added, ‘They were up against a team of much older students with much more experience.
The winning team had already won other competitions. To finish in second place is an excellent achievement!’ Tom Shepherd, Electrical Engineer, said ‘It was a really enriching experience.’ The team believe that this experience brought them all closer together as well as expanding on their knowledge.
Tom Dower, UTC South Durham Principal is immensely proud of the students. He said, ‘I was delighted, but not surprised, by the team’s success. What has impressed me most has been that they have taken the initiative completely by themselves, from their initial business case to convince me it was a good idea all the way through to
their final design’.
The team are already considering bringing in a second team for next year to increase their chances of winning. So look out for more exciting news from the UTC VEX club!
