Nine teams from schools and independent teams from across the country have won the right to represent the UK at this month's VEX World Championships, after their strong performances at the VEX Robotics and VEX IQ UK National Championships.
Both competitions were hotly contested as usual. Henrietta Barnett School from Hampstead dominated the VEX IQ Finals, with five teams ranked in the top 10. Tournament champions were an all-London alliance between Henrietta Barnett's HBS Vexplosions and Gear Squad from Queen Elizabeth's School.The Skills Champions were Robot IQ, an independent team also from London. Many of the headlines were made by the WGC MicroBots team, who became one of the youngest UK teams to qualify for the World Championships. Emily Duffy, aged 9 and Beth Thomas, 8, from Welwyn Garden City, hope to be taking their robot Roy to the US after winning the Elementary School Excellence Award.
In the VEX Robotics Finals, the winning alliance was composed of Shark Robotics, Stanborough School, team 3116C from John Warner School and Girls of Steel from East Barnet School. They showed the strength of the design of their robots in the final matches with a huge 83-15 aggregate win over their opponents. The teams hoping to fund a trip to Kentucky are: Gear Squad, Queen Elizabeth's School; HBS Overdrive, Henrietta Barnett School; WGC MicroBots; HBS Vexplosions, Henrietta Barnett School; 2357P, RobotIQ; 46644D, XLR8 Robotics; Shark Robotics, Stanborough School; 3116C, John Warner School and Girls of Steel, East Barnet School.
See the full list of award winners below:
VEX IQ Awards
- Excellence Awards - 11646A, WGC MicroBots (pictured right); Gear Squad, Queen Elizabeth's School
- Teamwork Champion Award - HBS Vexplosions, Henrietta Barnett School; Gear Squad, Queen Elizabeth's School
- Teamwork 2nd Place Award - H.Y.B.R.I.D, Queen Elizabeth's School; HBS Synergy, Henrietta Barnett School
- Robot Skills Champion Award - 2357P, RobotIQ
- Robot Skills Second Place Award - HBS Robosapiens, Henrietta Barnett School
- STEM Research Project Award - Gear Squad, Queen Elizabeth's School
- Judges Award - 11646A, WGC MicroBots
- Think Award - Loanhead Primary, Midlothian Schools
- Amaze Award - HBS Robosapiens, Henrietta Barnett School
- Build Award - H.Y.B.R.I.D, Queen Elizabeth's School
- Create Award - HBS Blaze, Henrietta Barnett School
- Design Award - HBS Overdrive, Henrietta Barnett School
- Energy Award - Tempest, Highgate School
- Volunteer of the Year - Michael Nelson
- Teacher of the Year - Pete Maguire
VEX Robotics Awards
- Excellence Award - 46644D, XLR8 Robotics
- Tournament Champions - Shark Robotics, Stanborough School; 3116C, John Warner School; Girls of Steel, East Barnet School (all pictured, right)
- Innovate Award -FR4UD, XLR8 Robotics
- Create Award - Shark Robotics, Stanborough School
- Amaze Award - H04X, XLR8 Robotics
- Build Award - StoweBots Falcon, Stow School
- Design Award - Procyon A, a-CMi
- Think Award - 3116C, John Warner School
- Judges Award - TDMS Robotics Tolerance, The De Montfort School
- Volunteer of the Year - VEX UK All Stars
- Tournament Finalists - 46644D, XLR8 Robotics; Procyon A, a-CMi; 3116B, John Warner School
- Robot Skills Winner - 46644D, XLR8 Robotics
- Energy Award - Stag, King Henry VIII School
- Robot Skills Finalist - 72477A, Fortismere
- Teacher of the Year - Andrew Duffy, Henrietta Barnett School
