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Chiswick Cyborgs compete in prestigious Robotics Competition
Earlier this month a group of enthusiastic robotics club students at Chiswick School, known as ‘the Chiswick Cyborgs’, took part in a prestigious competition: First Tech Challenge 2018/19. This was a landmark moment for the school as it is the first time a team has been entered and they hope to inspire future Chiswick cyborgs to take on the challenge.
The First Tech Challenge is a worldwide robotics competition that involves teams being tasked to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to- head challenge in an alliance format. Guided by adult coaches and mentors, students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and working as a team.
The Chiswick Cyborgs, made up of three Year 10 and six Year 12 students, worked tirelessly to build their robot in weekly and then daily meetings with Head of Computing, Mr Mahon. Whilst the Cyborgs found it difficult to find their footing at the beginning of the season, they persevered and worked incredibly hard, resulting in their efforts being rewarded.
They were placed 10th out of the 32 schools that entered and progressed on to the semi-finals. They were even ranked above the famous Eton College! The team were also selected to take part in some special activities including featuring in a promotional video. Most importantly, the Cyborgs were one of five teams to receive an award in recognition of their successful outreach to the school community, making the competition well-known, and empowering more students to take STEM subjects.
This was a fantastic achievement for the Chiswick Cyborgs and the school. Participating in such a prestigious competition has greatly benefited the students.
Project Manager Maimuna reflected on the experience saying: “I’ve grown in confidence, and learnt key leadership skills that will definitely serve me in the future.”
Mohamed the Lead Software Engineer said: “We were able to network at the event, and get some contacts that will be really useful for the future.”
Christian, another Software Engineer, added: “for me, it was a lot of systematic and logical thinking.”
Emma, the Marketing Lead, learned “a lot of communication skills” and feels more confident in giving speeches.
Mr Mahon, Head of Computing and staff lead for the Chiswick Cyborgs said: “I am incredibly proud of the team’s achievement. We want to thank the people who made our participation in the competition possible; our Headteacher Mrs Ellener who gave the club a room to build intensively in and the PTA who gave us a contribution to support the club and disadvantaged students.”
