🚧 NSCG | College hosts FIRST® LEGO® League regional tournament
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29th January 2018

Newcastle College were delighted to host this year’s FIRST® LEGO® League regional tournament on Wednesday 24th January 2018 which saw 14 teams from local high schools, including St Joseph’s College, Alsager High School and Endon High School take part in this year’s ‘HYDRO DYNAMICS Challenge’.

The FIRST® LEGO® League gives students the opportunity to research, design and make prototype solutions to solve real world issues. Students experience working as an engineer over a period of several months as they prepare for their tournament. The competition is designed to inspire students to pursue STEM-based careers as well as building important life skills and practical, hands on experience that they can use throughout their studies and in the future.

Mandy Workman, FIRST® LEGO® League IET Education Manager, said: “Students who take part in FIRST® LEGO® League this year will experience engineering in action. The programme brings enjoyment to STEM subjects as the students get hands-on experience with robotics, and designing innovative solutions. Developing computer programming, teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills has never been so much fun!”

This year’s regional tournament saw team ENDTEC from Endon High School walk away as champions, having impressed the judges in multiple categories and will now take part in the UK and Ireland Final at the University of West of England (UWE) on 24th February 2018. They will be joined by team ERM…AMOEBA from Biddulph High School who secured 2nd place. The top achieving teams at the national final will then get the opportunity to represent their country and the IET on a global stage, competing at International Championships in Hungary, Estonia and the USA in 2018.

Andy Snape, LEGO® Education Studio Manager at Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) said: “We were delighted to support and host the FIRST® LEGO® League tournament. The event showcased some incredible robot design, problem-solving techniques and excellent team spirit, with all the teams doing themselves and their schools proud on the day.”

NSCG has invested over £100,000 across its two sites, into purchasing brand new state-of-the-art LEGO® Education Studios and equipment which aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and computer programmers.

LEGO® Education Innovation Studio sessions are available at both sites for primary and secondary school students every Thursday (Newcastle) and Friday (Stafford) during term time.