Pupils are judges' choice in contest
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CRUDIE Primary School won the judges' award in a challenge that put robotic building skills to the test.
The pupils were part of 75 young people, including students from Turriff Academy, who gathered at Robert Gordon's College to take part in a competition to build a robot to complete tasks, overcome obstacles and earn points.
The contest featured nine teams – five from primary schools and four from secondary schools – and was the first-ever VEX IQ Next Level Challenge event to take place in Scotland.
It was part of an initiative designed to engage more young people in to robotics in Scotland and is run by VEX Robotics, a platform for educational robotics around the world, in partnership with the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI).
The competition was one of four taking place in Aberdeen, Forfar, Fort William and Glasgow where two teams from each regional event will have the chance to compete at the VEX IQ Challenge UK National Championships in March 2019, along with 60 teams from the rest of the UK.
Teachers and educators based in and around the north-east were invited to workshops in their respective regions to familiarise themselves with VEX Robotics and the VEX IQ platform, prior to the start of the new academic year.
Following these sessions, attendees commented on the impressive scope for student growth in core science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects, such as physics, technology, engineering and computer science, as well as the free programming software and academic resources available online.
The north-east schools taking part were: Harlaw Academy; Crudie Primary; Tullos Primary; Mintlaw Academy; Auchterless School; Gordon Primary; Forres Academy; Turriff Academy; and Kingswells Primary.
Rebecca MacLennan, YESC programme director at SCDI, welcomed VEX Robotics' geographical expansion into more regions of Scotland.
She said: "This is a fantastic incentive for teachers in Scotland to develop pupils' knowledge of Stem."
