As a well-connected global talent agency, Cogs believe in investing in the future of tomorrow, today.
Because of this, we are extremely proud to be supporting the project of a group of six South Yorkshire primary school children in their endeavours in robotics, which has taken them to an international stage.
The Wacky Wobots
The team of six primary school pupils from setting their sights on attending the World Finals of 2018 VEX Robotics Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The Wacky Wobots coding team were looking for sponsorship and partnership of companies to help them make the huge journey across the Atlantic.
With an estimated cost of £15,000 as a target, the young engineers hoped to raise the funds with the help of companies and Cogs decided they were going to help them achieve this goal.
As one of only two UK schools to have won a place at the finals, it’s a very impressive achievement. The “Wacky Wobots” team created a STEM research project that investigated how robots are currently being used to treat diabetes and could be developed further in the future.
It was a team member’s recent diabetes diagnosis that inspired the pupils to design and create the project.
Because of their tenacious endeavours, the Wacky Wobots team were awarded the ‘Excellence Award’ which gave them a ‘golden’ ticket for the World Finals in Louiseville, Kentucky. They travelled to the World Finals of 2018 VEX Robotics Championship and what an incredible experience they had. In an almost ‘Olympic opening ceremony’ event at the Freedom Arena – The Wobots had 3 places to lead out the UK teams in the parade of nations. There were teams from 46 different nations, representing every continent.
The Results
The team then completed 6 matches and also attempted their autonomous and driver skills rounds. After winning the regional competition with a high score of 55, the team had an average score of over 130. This is more than double their previous winning score. The next day followed with 4 more matches. In the teamwork competition, they amassed a high score of 234. The team finished the tournament ranked 36th out of 80 in their group putting them in the top 200 teams overall.
After next years game was revealed the team enjoyed a visit to the adjacent theme park Kentucky Kingdom for the official after-party.
“Their behaviour, teamwork, and communication with other teams has as been outstanding.” Said a spokesperson from the school.
Inspiration against deprivation
Our Lady and St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School is in a deprived area. The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2015 data shows that the area surrounding the school is in the most deprived fifth of England, with child poverty in particular in North Wath at twice the national average %, making this a truly impressive achievement for both the school and children.
Attending the 2018 VEX Robotics Championship was a once in a lifetime experience for the children that will inspire many others, both locally and nationally. The event was an amazing opportunity for the pupils to meet teams from across the world and representatives from mega-corporations such as NASA and Google.
If you, like us at Cogs believe in the future of engineering and technology and would like to show your support for a great project from Our Lady and St. Joseph’s you can still donate, volunteer or sponsor here.
