10 of our enthusiastic Junior 3 pupils joined around 100 other pupils, aged 9 to 16, from schools in and around Carlisle to take part in the North Cumbria heat of FIRST LEGO League, at the University of Cumbria’s Fusehill Street campus on Friday 24th January.

The FLL competition is the largest of its type in the world and seeks to develop STEM skills through building Lego robots and competing in a series of tests. Pupils are judged on their skills in robotics, computer programming, teamwork, research, problem solving and communication to encourage an interest in real-world themes and develop key skills that are crucial for future STEM careers.

The Austin Friars team were crowned champions of the heat and will now go forward to the National Finals in Bristol, at the end of February. The team really excelled; setting a particularly high standard on the Robot Game element.

10-year old pupil Jack Hutchinson said, “It has been really good fun we have been working as a team and on all the different aspects of the competition. We have been working on our project twice a day at school and at home we have been coming up with ideas to solve any problems.”

Mr Robinson, Deputy Head of Junior School, said, “It has been amazing - the children have been so dedicated and enthusiastic.”